Hang Me Up to Dry
by Passy
Summary: Reyna is a normal teenager in Chicago-she goes to school, works, and spends too much time on Netflix. But when her best friend, who's a bar owner, introduces her to Percy Jackson, her life suddenly becomes much more interesting. Suddenly Reyna finds herself making friends left and right, doing things she'd never dreamed of and tumbling head first in love with Percy.
1. Introduction

**I absolutely do not own PJO or HoO. All rights go to Rick Riordan. **

I

Reyna drummed her hand against the side of her desk. Her eyes flitted back and forth between the clock on the wall and her teacher, Mr. Delaney, who was going on and on and on about the Holocaust. She rolled her eyes as he bad-mouth about Adolf Hitler. Yeah, he was bad and he killed thousands of people…_and_ he was probably a little insane in the head but, hey, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. At least that's what Reyna thought…the streets had taught her that.

After another ten minutes, she couldn't stand it. 6th period was taking waaaaay too long. Her hand shot into the air, and Mr. Delaney raised an eyebrow at her, surprised. Reyna was one of his quiet students. She never talked unless she was called on, and even then he had to pry answers from her. "Yes, Reyna?" he said.

"Mr. Delaney, sorry to interrupt such a _thrilling_ lecture but I'm feeling really really sick. May I go to the nurse?"

Mr. Delaney pursed his lips. There was only 20 more minutes left. So much more to learn. But for Reyna to actually speak, it must've been serious. Maybe she was pregnant? He considered it, immediately rejecting the thought and he said. "Sure. Just make sure to get tonight's homework from someone in the class."

Reyna nodded, making brief contact with Miguel, her next door neighbor. Miguel nodded, a goofy smile spreading across his tanned face. If there was anyone Reyna could count on, it was Miguel. They had lived next door to each other since they were in 3rd grade. Reyna had recently moved from Puerto Rico to the city of Chicago with her parents and her sister, Hylla when he'd planted himself firmly on their porch and refused to leave until Reyna played ball with him.

Reyna's house was a little brick complex with three bedrooms and some serious drainage problems. The sink was always getting backed up, and the water became murky at some intervals. But Reyna guessed that's what you got when you bought a house with cheap rent in the sketchy parts of the city.

Reyna didn't mind the first few years after she moved. Chicago turned out to be an interesting city—constantly changing. It was vastly different than Puerto Rico. Well, the United States in general was different than Puerto Rico. For one, the weather was crazy. Her mother joked that you could experience the four _estaciones _(seasons) in one day. For example, it was September when Reyna moved to Chicago. The mornings would be breezy. In the early afternoon, during recess, it'd be unbearably hot. By the time she sort of finished her homework and went outside, it'd be chilly. By night, she had to make sure she wore double socks and snuggled up close to Hylla because the cold chilled her bones.

Another thing that was different for Reyna was the language. Back in Puerto Rico she had some basic understanding of the language. Most residents in her native country had to know English in order to interact with tourists, but at home and among each other, they spoke Spanish. So when little Reyna was tossed into school and teachers started asking her questions, she only knew how to say "Hello. My name is Reyna and I am 8." Immediately kids had started snickering and mumbling, "She talks funny."

Reyna had been confused. She talked funny? She couldn't even understand _their_ English. Words were pronounced differently, and the Americans talked too fast. They also used weird expressions. What on earth do you mean it's raining cat and dogs? After her embarrassing introduction, Reyna plopped into her seat and vouched to never ever speak in class again.

Reyna hoisted her backpack on her shoulder, and marched out class. In fact, she marched to the nurse's office, past it and out of school. She had enough for one day. Plus…no one would notice she was gone. Except for maybe Miguel_. If_ he could peel his lips off his girlfriend for a minute.

Reyna walked a couple of blocks down before she realized where she wanted to go. She raced down the next couple of blocks, until she heard the familiar rumbling of the CTA. She took the stairs two at a time, rummaged around for her Ventra pass, and scanned it just as the train was coming to a halt. Normally, the pink line was one of the busiest trains but today, as Reyna boarded, there were only two people boarding along with her. She slipped into the nearest car, and nestled into the seats. The pink line wouldn't take her to her favorite place in the city but it didn't matter. Most trains around the city all lead back into the heart of Chicago, called the Loop. Reyna knew the Loop by heart. The crazy commuters of the blue line, the damp smell of the red, the rowdiness of the college kids on the brown…etc.

The doors of the train finally closed, and the automatic recording sounded through the speakers. "Thank you for boarding the Pink Line. This train goes to downtown Chicago. Next stop…."

Reyna popped in her headphones and gazed out the window. She wondered what Hylla was doing right now.

It took her a total of 35 minutes to get there. After getting off in the downtown loop, she had to catch the redline all the way to uptown. The redline was so packed that she had spent most of the time, uncomfortably sandwiched between two grandmothers. Their old lady perfume gave Reyna a headache.

Finally she boarded off on Wilson and headed to Skinny's. From the outside, Skinny's looked like it was out of business but the regulars knew better. The establishment was a brick building with tinted black windows and a black door. Ominous, really. The neon Skinny's sign flickered on and off constantly. As Reyna approached the store, she felt a familiar rush.

The place inside was…how to describe it? A teen's heaven? There was a bar but no alcoholic drinks were served. Instead, the bartenders made customers some downright good smoothies and milkshakes. They also had pretty good burgers and hot dogs. Reyna loved their Chicago style hot dogs with extra extra relish.

The store was dark inside, except for the random Technicolor lights and lanterns that hung around on the walls. The walls were adorned with signed autographs of baseball players, pictures of Chicago in the early 1900s, rock legends and few pictures of Al Capone. Why? Reyna didn't know. As far as she knew, Al Capone was pretty douche. Assorted plush couches and chairs were placed throughout the establishment. There were a couple of retro looking booths with lava lamps as centerpieces. Skinny's also had a small dance floor that got packed with sweaty bodies on weekends and a small stage where Skinny would host different events. Local bands? Sure, let the kids have 5 minutes of fame. Poetry readings? Skinny had a gloomy side too and it was a good excuse to finger snap. Hypnosis show? Sure, it was a sham anyway but he got a kick out of seeing freaked out kid.

Whatever. Reyna loved this place. She had been coming since she was a freshman and now she was a senior. If she was feeling nice, she even worked for Skinny a couple of weekends for some extra cash.

Reyna made her way to the jukebox. Her favorite. Skinny had a good variety of music on it, ranging from Ellie Goulding to Skrillex to Pink Floyd. She settled on a Led Zeppelin song and bopped her way to the counter, where she then laid her head down.

It was a few minutes before Skinny emerged from the back, phone glued to his ear. He noticed Reyna and waggled his eyebrows. He muttered a brief goodbye into the phone, shut it and turned to her. Skinny was skinny. Perhaps too skinny. His skinny jeans hung too loosely on his hips and he was bald. _By choice_. He also had too many piercings and wore cat eye glasses, which should've looked weird but amazingly, he pulled it off. He had gone to Loyola University, and graduated with a degree in Chemistry but ended up opening his joint for stressed teens. Skinny patted Reyna's hair before asking, "The usual?"

She nodded, boring her big brown eyes into his. She was glad for Skinny. He was like the big brother she had never had. In no time, he was humming to Reyna's song pick and chopping up a mango. Reyna watched as the knife slid into the juicy yellow fruit and then was blended together with milk and sugar. Just the way she liked it. It reminded her of the fresh mangoes she and Hylla would eat from their _abuela's_ house back in Puerto Rico.

Skinny set it on the bar for her before turning around to clean the mango mess. "So, I take it you didn't have an early dismissal?"

Reyna stayed quiet. She didn't expect Skinny to chew her out. He was usually cool with seeing her around before school let out.

"What's bothering you today, _Reynita_?" Queenie.

Reyna's mouth twisted at the nickname. She hated it and wished Skinny wouldn't add _–ita_ or _–ito_ to everything he came into contact with. Mangito. Carito. Streetito? He couldn't even pronounce it right which pissed Reyna off. If there was one thing she was fond of, it was her native tongue. It was the sacred communication tool between her sister and her parents. It was a sacred gift from her home country.

"Honestly," she replied after too long. "Nothing."

Skinny barked out a laugh. "Cut the bullshit, Reyna. I know you like I know my bar."

She bit her lip to hold back a smile. Skinny did in fact know her very well. From her preferred smoothie, down to her favorite color and he could easily identify each of Reyna's deadly moods. That was Skinny though, so easy at reading people. Reyna sighed and swirled her straw around in the thick mixture. "It's the stupid gang again," she admitted. "They've terrorizing the neighborhood for the past few weeks and last night, they cornered my dad. Apparently, someone has been snitchin' and they're determined to get to the bottom of it. We're thinking of moving but there's not enough money with Hylla off at school and mom's hours cut. _No se_."

She blew her bangs off her face, getting frustrated with herself. Skinny nodded sympathetically and resumed wiping down the counter. "Tough shit, kiddo. But you can't get involved with the police."

Reyna knew. The gangs in her neighborhood had eyes and ears everywhere. They also had resources. One little slip up and Reyna's entire family would be in trouble. Even her family in Puerto Rico. That's how powerful some gangs were.

The gangs were old news. They had always been around but up until now they had never interfered with Reyna's family. More than anything, it infuriated her that she couldn't do anything. It ticked her off that a couple of macho men thought they could terrorize entire neighborhoods and stomp on anyone. Their power hungriness pissed her off. It pissed her off so much that it made her tired and fed up—almost wanting to give up. But that wasn't Reyna's style—she was just biding her time. Sooner or later, those silly gang members would pay for interfering with her life.

Reyna finished her smoothie and started the homework of the morning classes she had gone to. Time flew. She got lost in the poetic words of Aerosmith, and belted out lyrics to Paramore with Skinny. By the time she looked at the clock again, it was 4:23 and she had 7 missed calls from Miguel. _So needy, and he's not even my boyfriend. I feel sorry for his girl, _she thought and promised herself she wouldn't act like that over some boy.

"Reyna," Skinny called, snapping his fingers at her. "You okay? You looked pretty pissed off….more than usual." He laughed as if it had been the silliest thing he'd ever said.

"It's just—I—ugh, I don't understand relationships," she huffed. "The whole groping each other in the hallway during passing periods, possessiveness and blowing up your phone? No thank you. I'd rather be single until I'm 30 and hit the bars every night."

Skinny laughed. "Gosh, Reyna, if I didn't know any better, I would think you're on the way to becoming a nun." She rolled her eyes at him but Skinny continued. "Y'know this bar will always be here for you. And if things don't turn out well for you….you could always just join a band of immortal teenagers and swear off men for good."

Reyna narrowed her eyes at Skinny. "Don't be foolish. There's no such thing. If there was, I'd be the leader of that band."

Skinny threw his head back and laughed. It was one of Reyna's favorite sounds in the world. "Kid, you crack me up. Hows about you go restock for me—chips, pops, napkins, and whatnot—for tonight. I've got a couple of friends coming and I want you to meet them."

Reyna scowled at the bar owner. "Friends? God, don't tell me you're hosting the crazies again. Last time, that one girl splattered ketchup all over the booth and said she was performing a sacrifice." It had creeped the bejesus out of her.

"Oh, come on, those kids were a riot!" he said. Reyna shot him a dirty look and he held his hands up in protest. "Okay, maybe they were a _bit_ off. And yes, it took a while for the ketchup stains to come out but even they need to have some fun once in a while."

Before Reyna could counter his comment, Skinny quickly continued. "As much as I'd like our friends from Harpers's School for Troubled Children to come back, no. I invited my cousin and his friends over to check it out."

"Cousins? I didn't know you had family here."

Skinny chuckled. He could detect the slight jealousy in Reyna's voice. "I didn't. He and his mother moved here a week ago."

Reyna furrowed her brow. Only a week here and the boy already had friends? Huh. The whole concept of friends was foreign to Reyna. The closest to friends she'd ever gotten was Hylla, her sister and Miguel. But Hylla was just as secretive as her and they rarely had any sisterly gossiping time together. And Miguel…he was just downright annoying. Give a boy a mustache, some muscles and throw him into a school with girls with self-esteem issues and he turned into the world's biggest swine. Reyna was sure that a big part of being friends with him had to do with the fact that he was her neighbor and their moms were BFFs. Still.

Reyna glanced back at her cellphone. 8 missed calls. She resisted the urge to huff, and glanced back at Skinny. "Cool. If they're related to you, I'm definitely in for a show."

Skinny laughed, and patted her on the shoulder. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye that, for a second, worried Reyna. But this was Skinny. He knew not to mess with her…right? "I'll get the new shipment of Dr Pepper in the back for you," was all he said and disappeared.

* * *

**AN: Aaaand that was chapter one. I hoped you guys enjoyed the boring introduction. Those are always hard to get through. **

**Anyway, I'm trying out this fanfic thing again because I have so many ideas but so little time. **

**I've plotted out where I want to go with this story and let's just say, it'll get more interesting. **

**Love it? Hate it? Is there a typo you're dying to correct? Lemme know. **

**Passy**


	2. Boqueron Beach

**I don't own anything. Seriously. College student here. I am forever broke. **

**II**

It was 6:15 when the first wave of customers hit. They were the regulars from Lakeview, a high school not too far from the place. Reyna sat on a counter behind the bar when the group stumbled in, laughing. One blonde boy, whom she kind of got a long with waved at her. He had his arm around a girl so the interaction was brief. Reyna kept her face impassive as the kids all slid into booths and tables. Inside she scolded herself for always being too reserved and shy to make any friends at her school. That could've been her, chatting among her friends and laughing. No matter. Reyna had made good grades—good enough to get into a state university or maybe even community college-and steered clear out of trouble. She wouldn't stay in such a suffocating neighborhood. Reyna had plans to move out somewhere more diverse. Accepting. That was an issue of the city that always bothered her.

Typically when one thought of Chicago, they'd imagine the glittering downtown skyscrapers, towering high above. Maybe they'd even think of Cloud Gate, the silvery shaped bean that tourists swarmed in order to take the perfect wedding picture or selfie. Downtown wasn't just _Chicago._ The city had different, smaller sections that branched off. Like Reyna lived in southern outskirts of Chicago. And not that she wanted to bash on her neighborhood, but it definitely had its flaws. It wasn't all nice and pristine like downtown. The opposite really. Her neighborhood was mainly made up of Latino families, most of them immigrants from countries like Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. That meant that there was scarcely any revenue going back into the community to fix the shitty roads and decaying telephone poles. Plus, there was the issue with gangs terrorizing the streets with the promise of more money if you joined them. Reyna had lost count of how many of her elementary school classmates had gotten swept up in that.

She remembered this one time after school, Reyna had been walking home with Hylla when an older guy dressed in black approached them. Her older sister had been a couple of months away from graduating 8th grade and Reyna had been in 6th grade. When the guy came close, Hylla had taken hold of Reyna's hand and told her to stay quiet. The guy and Hylla argued but most of what they were saying hadn't made sense to Reyna. Something about taking something to somewhere. He said that since Hylla was a woman, no one would suspect her. Hylla was red in the face with anger or embarrassment? Reyna had trouble reading her sister. Hylla kept shaking her head, mumbling, "No. That was the last time. I'm done."

The guy looked ticked off but turned on his heel and sauntered away. Afterwards, as the two sisters had continued walking home, Hylla took Reyna by the shoulders, looked into her eyes and said, "Not a word as to what happened. _Ever."_

Reyna had always looked up to and adored her sister. She'd never betray her trust. As the years went by, it slowly had dawned on Reyna that her sister might've been a drug mule at some point in her life. Probably to make some extra cash or something. She had never exactly asked Hylla what had gone down. Whatever the case, it made Reyna's resentment towards gangs grow. It was their fault their community was in shambles. Their fault that she couldn't stay out past 8 o'clock. Their fault that cops were always profiling people. Their fault that Hylla had gone so far away.

The door continued to chime and Reyna snapped back to reality. Her coworkers, if you could call them that, were flitting to and fro taking everyone's orders. The joint was packed by now. Tonight's event was a local band performing called Blue Plastic Hairbrush. Why such a stupid name for a band? Reyna didn't know but she had to admit they were good. They had a sort of indie rock sound to them and mainly played covers. BPH was mainly made up of girls, save for the drum player (who Reyna thought was pretty cute). There was Piper, the lead singer. She was beautiful, and had a voice like Fergie and Jesus. She was _that_ good. Hazel, another member, was all over the place. She played the keyboard and sang back up. Her voice, too, was amazing. So soulful and sad that after shows Reyna often had to blink rapidly to evade tears. Hazel also played the tambourine. She simply oozed talent. It probably had something to do with all those unkempt curls piled on her hair.

Rachel was another member, a red head with too many freckles. She didn't sing. In fact, she rarely showed up. When she did show up, she'd play the cello or the triangle. Pretty useless, Reyna figured. The last band member was Thalia, or Thals, the guitarist. She was the whole enchilada to the band—man, could she rock a solo. If Thalia ever quit BPH, she'd have no trouble finding a band to take her in. Nico was the drummer who never talked but he poured out passion into his music.

BPH had played several times at Skinny's. No matter what weather, they always drew in a full house. Reyna guessed because they were all gorgeous. Who wouldn't want to come? It was like attending a free Paramore concert featuring Beyonce and Demi Lovato. No, really. They were that good.

It made Reyna feel bland and untalented. No matter. Reyna wasn't up for shenanigans like rehearsing for a band and arguing over what rhymed with Sparta. She was fine being Reyna—boring, yeah, but _strong._

Tonight the members of BPH were casually mingling with the customers. who were probably their friends too. There were screams, and hugs and 'omigod do I love your shoes' from their friends. Reyna just stood watching, poised by the cash register, chin in her hand. She caught sight of Hazel sneaking away to a far booth, her hands clasped with a boys and Thalia giving a purple nurple to the boy Reyna has said hi to.

"Excuse me," said a voice.

Reyna glanced lazily to the person who had spoken. It was a boy, an inch or two taller than her. He had tanned skin, brown eyes and his hair was a mess of brown curls. He was wearing a shirt with an owl in an lab coat, the word 'Who?' written in cursive underneath. Immediately, Reyna liked him- he had good taste in TV shows.

"Um yeah?" she said, eyeing him some more. He didn't have food or a drink so he obviously wasn't paying.

"I was wondering if you have a highlighter," he asked.

Reyna began, "Actually I have a pe—"

"—because I wanna be the highlight of your day," he finished, slowly cracking a smile.

Reyna stared at him. She twisted her mouth in distaste, immediately taking back her initial thought of him and beginning to hate him. How dare he try corny pick-up lines on her? Did she look like some kind of piece of meat he could just pick up so easily?

Without batting an eyelash, Reyna coldly replied, "I have a pen. Do you want it or not?"

The boy nodded, clearly disappointed by her reply. She tossed him the ballpoint pen and he clumsily caught it. "Gosh, could you be a bit more careful? That thing could practically act as a sword and pierce me."

Reyna didn't reply. She just continued to glared at him as if to say, 'You're a loser and I clearly have better things to do'. The brown haired boy cleared his throat and handed her back the pen with a napkin. "This pen is actually for you, so you can write your digits for me."

_Gah. The nerve._ "How about I write them on your face?"

The boy cracked a smile, and continued unfazed. "Actually, I know a better place you can write them."

By that point, Reyna was ready to reach over and strangle the boy out of existence but Piper materialized beside him. "Leo!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "I'm _so_ glad you could come."

Leo was a dark shade of red when Piper pulled away. He clearly had feelings for Piper. He straightened his rumbled tee shirt, glancing at Reyna out of the corner of his eye when Piper wasn't looking. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Pipes."

Piper squealed and clapped her hands. She turned to Reyna, and flashed her a sneaky smile. "Reyna! Heyyy, this is Leo. One of my best friends." So she had caught that glance from Leo. Ouch, he was deep in the Friendzone River.

Casually, Reyna nodded. She tore her glare from Leo to Piper.

"Reyna was just about to give me her number, Piper, before you cockblocked."

Piper's eyes turned the size of the moon, and Reyna barked out a laugh. "Um, no. I wasn't. I was just about to kick your ass for harassing me."

That elicited a laugh from Piper. She looped her arm with Leo's. "Two strawberry banana smoothies, please. One for me and one for this reject."

Leo's face was ablaze. In a few moments, he'd be a scorched pile of ash. Reyna took Piper's cash.

"Keep the change," said the singer and dragged her best friend away.

As Reyna got to work on the smoothies, she caught Piper saying to Leo. "She's not kidding about kicking you ass either."

She ran a knife down the strawberry. Her lips curved up into a smirk. _Damn right,_ she thought. _I can take his scrawny butt any day._ As fierce as she wanted to be, Reyna secretly thanked Leo for being brave enough to flirt with her. She made sure her face was always fixed with a cold regard and a hostile stance in order to intimidate and scare men. If Leo had seen her like that, and regardless, still had come to flirt…Reyna had to give him props. He was brave. Or really stupid. She finished the smoothies just as Piper reappeared to pick them up. She returned to her table which seemed to be rapidly growing with people. BPH's fans were starting to get rowdy. Reyna hopped they didn't spill anything. She wasn't in the mood for yelling, asskicking and mopping.

Skinny reappeared in a haste. "Reyna," he called out as he hopped over the bar. "Lights."

Reyna knew the drill. She flipped a switch off next to the blender and the lights dimmed. Piper and Leo's table whooped as Piper sheepishly made her way to the stage, along with Hazel and Thalia. Nico had been behind the drums the whole time, quietly sulking. Reyna heaved a dreamy sigh. If Reyna were to ever want to settle down and have a relationship, it'd be with Nico. He seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't mind sitting together for hours without uttering a word. Plus, his tall, skinny and dark physique was to die for.

As the band assembled, Skinny reappeared with microphones and a guy at his side. He caught Reyna's eye and motioned her over. Maybe this was his cousin. Reyna hopped over the counter and walked over to them. She took in the features of the guy Skinny was talking to. He was tall—taller than her and Skinny. Maybe 5'11? His jet black hair drooped into his eyes. He wore an orange tee-shirt and leather necklace with colorful beads. He seemed pretty basic alright until Reyna inched closer. The smell hit her first and she absentmindedly clutched her chest. Waves of nostalgia washed over her. She was instantly transported to _Playa Boquerón (Boqueron beach)_ back home, to endless nights playing in the sand with her older sister, to coconut drinks sold in tents to the salty ocean breeze that rippled in her hair. That's what the boy smelled like. Like the ocean. Like Puerto Rico. Like Home.

She blinked rapidly as Skinny took her by the shoulder and introduced them. She was vaguely aware of what he was saying. _He's just like home,_ she thought hazily. _He's Puerto Rico, he's—shit, his mouth is moving. What was his name? Perry? Perry._

Reyna stuck out her hand for him. He took it, staring intently at her. They shook hands for almost a minute before Perry frowned and withdrew it. Reyna let out a nervous laugh.

"Aww, she's at a loss for words. That's a first," Skinny cooed, ruffling her hair. Her braid started to come away. "He asked you what your name meant."

Reyna's lips formed an 'o'. "Ahhh, oh, sorry Perry. I was sort of distracted, ahem. It means queen. Reyna. In Spanish. Because I'm from, like, Puerto Rico. "

Percy let out a joyous laugh. "It's beautiful. Exotic." Reyna felt her cheeks heat up. Thank god for the dim lighting.

"Well, why don't you two kids get to know each other some more," Skinny drawled out with a goofy grin plastered onto his face. "I'm gonna go finish helping out the ladies do their sound check." Before he left, he pulled Reyna into a side hug, and whispered into her ear, "Oh be-te-dubs, his name is _Percy_," winked and left once again.

Reyna blushed even more furiously. Well, shit. She fanned her face and looked around the room. "Jesus, it's getting a bit stuffy in here."

Percy nodded, looking around the room too. He looked just as uncomfortable as she did. "Hell yeah. Imagine how hot it'll get once they begin."

She knew he was just being nice and making small talk for his cousin's sake. Soon enough, he'd excuse himself and leave to find his friends. Reyna was simply the uninteresting girl who made smoothies. Still, she didn't want Percy to leave. He smelled so good.

Reyna noticed Percy was staring at her. His eyes twinkled in the dark. What color were they? "Hey," he exclaimed. "How about we start moving to the stage so we're not packed in with everyone?"

Before Reyna could reply, he took her by the hand and led her to the front of the small stage. His salty ocean smell wafted into her nose. They stood in the right handed side of the stage. Reyna judged by the keyboard that they'd be directly parallel to Hazel. Percy and Reyna stood in silence as they waited. For some reason he was still holding her hand. She allowed her self to gaze upon him. His face was washed with pink and purple due to the show light boring down on him. He was muttering to himself, maybe singing along to the jukebox. Chiding himself? Reyna did it all the time. He probably felt her staring at him and returned the look. "I'm sorry this is so awkward. I don't really know how to interact with cute girls."

It took her a couple of seconds to register his compliment. Her lips twitched with a smile. "It's okay. I'm not used to getting called cute."

Percy laughed again, throwing his head back dramatically. His teeth were in perfect alignment. Even in a pink hue, he looked good.

"I'm sorry I called you Perry, Percy" she blurted. She had no idea why. Reyna just wanted to be on good terms with this beautiful stranger.

Percy smirked. "Ah, so she _does_ know my name. I figured you were trying to be mean, and act completely rude like girls do when they're trying to blow off a guy."

"No, no—well, yes. That's something I _would_ do. I'd also punch a guy too but I didn't really catch your name in the first place. Skinny caught me off guard. I mean, what kind of name is Percy?"

"What kind of name is Reyna?" he countered, playfulness in his tone.

"Ah, touché."

Percy turned away from her. She vaguely registered people crowding behind her. Percy had been smart. Being upfront allowed her and Percy to be near a vent that blew down cool air. They could head bang and shuffle without worrying about breaking a sweat.

"Perseus," he said.

"Bless you?"

"Hah, no I mean my nam—"

He was interrupted by a screech of feedback and the band members piled on stage. Thalia took hold of the microphone and yelled, "Are you guys ready to have the time of your lives?"

Spectators started to gather as they cheered. Thalia shook her blue and black hair in astonishment.

"Awesome," she yelled and handed the mic to Piper.

"How are you guys doing?" she said with a laugh. Some people replied. Percy wolf-whistled at her. Reyna internally rolled her eyes. Of course he'd go after someone like Piper. She was practically the reincarnation of Venus.

"Good, good," the Cherokee singer continued. "We are Blue Plastic Hairbrush, and tonight we have the lovely Hazel Levesque on the keys, silent-but-deadly Nico DiAngelo on drums, your girl-next-door Thalia (Thalia gave Piper the bird at that) playing the guitar and I am Piper. We'll start off with some covers. We hope you guys enjoy."

Nico began to play the drums and Hazel the keyboard. It started off as weird psychedelic sound, puzzling Reyna, but immediately the sound became more popish. Piper began to sing, _"When you first left me, I was wantin' more but you were screwing that girl next door. Wha'dya do that for...?"_

Reyna gasped and unintentionally tugged on Percy's shirt. He turned and said, "I love this song!" just as she declared, "I love Lily Allen."

The smiled at each other and turned away, bopping and nodding their heads to Piper's sweet voice.

BPH played Royals by Lorde next. Hazel and Piper did this thing where they switched verses so it became a duet. It sounded cool. Thalia just stood there uncomfortable to not be playing her guitar and snapped rhythmically. Afterwards they played, Its My Life by No Doubt. Apparently that was a crowd favorite because bodies started gyrating and screaming the chorus at their top of their lungs. Even Reyna joined in with Percy. She let herself go for a minute and enjoyed the music of BPH. The chorus hit her especially hard.

_It's my life. Don't you forget. Oh, its my life. It never ends._

It was her life. She wasn't going to let her parents, her sister, or some childish gang members define her life. She was going to take control of it, live, enjoy and make mistakes along the way but it' d be hers.

Reyna closed her eyes as the girls on stage and Thalia rocked out. Everything was blissful until she felt someone jab her in the side and Percy exclaimed, "Valdez?"

She opened her eyes only to find Leo grinning at her, wedged in between Reyna and Percy. Instantly her face hardened.

"You look so much more friendly with your eyes closed," Leo yelled at her.

Reyna crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes so hard that she burned ten calories. Reyna resisted the urge to punch Leo in the face during the rest of Blue Plastic Toothbrush's set.

* * *

**Phew**

**That was fun to write. **

**Anyway, few words. This isn't your typical demigod story here. I'm trying to incorporate real life issues into the story (even though the gods are real and we're all demigods). Also, this story takes place in Chicago. I wish I could've written about NY but I'm not from there so it'd be harder and really artificial if I talked about Manhattan not knowing a spit of it. **

**Also, if you're solely a Percabeth shipper, I suggest you stop reading and save yourself a heart attack because by the look of things...Me? I'm hardcore Percabeth but its nice to write with an open mind for other ships. Plus, I love Reyna so I want to experiment with her a little since there's not a whole lot about her. **

**Oh and yes, I introduced more demigods! Y'all didn't think I'd leave them out of the fun now! Piper, Hazel, Leo, Nico, Jason, and good ol' Pinecone Face. **

**Like it? Love it? What are your opinions? What do you want to see? What's your favorite ship? **

**-Passy**


	3. Leo Effs Up

**Je ne posséde rien. (Is that right? I'm winging it.) It all goes to Uncle Rick.**

* * *

Reyna was furious. She angrily wiped down the last table, picking up plates and cups in the process. It was 10 minutes to closing and it seemed that they were nowhere near done cleaning. At the rate it was going, she'd probably be getting out at 10:30, taking the train at 10:45, and getting home at 12. She'd be in bed by 12:30

Wait. She took that back. She still had to hop into the shower and get the smoothie out of her hair.

Reyna sighed in frustration, smoothing down the tendrils of hair that framed her face. Most of her hair popped back to their original place but the strands covered by smoothie stuck to her head like glue. Reyna replayed the rest of the evening. After Leo Valdez had managed to get between Reyna and Percy, Reyna had watched Blue Plastic Hairbrush for one more song before Leo managed to get on her nerves. He was screaming Piper's name over and over as the girl sung, trying to get the entire crowd to chant along. No one except Percy joined him. In the process, he kept jumping and shoving Percy which made Percy shove _him_ and the force made him shove _Reyna_. He also jabbed her in the ribs several times and almost poked out an eyeball. Reyna suspected he had done it on purpose because each time Leo would turn to her and smile, his face reading 'oops?'

At the end of the song, a cover of the Dog Days Are Over, Reyna pushed her way out of the crowd and back to the bar. She plopped onto a stool and winced; she rubbed her side. Not only had Leo managed to jab her several times in the side but he managed to do it in the exact same spot. Reyna lifted her shirt up slightly to inspect the damage. Yup, she'd have a nasty bruise there tomorrow.

Someone sat in the stool beside her. "Was I _that_ bad of a date?"

Percy.

She hastily lowered her henley in embarrassment but Percy had seen. His hands reached out to grab the hem of her shirt and lifted it up. His eyes bugged out as he saw the slight swelling on her side. "What happened? Did you fall?" he questioned, his tone full of concern.

"God, no. I got into a bar brawl just a few seconds ago," Reyna joked. She sucked in a deep breath when she felt cool fingers fan across her ribs.

"The truth?" Percy asked. He removed his hands and lowered her shirt.

Reyna felt uncomfortable under his stare. She lowered her gazed and shook her head. "Leo accidentally jabbed me on the dance floor. It's no big deal."

Percy let out a hearty laugh. "Valdez is an idiot," he said. "Don't worry, Reyna. I'll chew him out later."

It was nice to hear that from Percy. She'd only met him about 30 minutes ago and he suddenly seemed to be so protective of her. Reyna felt like she mattered to someone again. Someone other than Hylla and her parents. But something nagged at her. She didn't really want Leo to get in trouble with Percy. As much as of a good guy Percy looked, she had an inkling feeling that he could be a very very frightening enemy to have. Plus, Reyna didn't want to come in between a friendship.

"Don't worry about," Reyna told Percy. She managed a smile to show that it really was no big deal. "Accidents happened all the time, right?" The smile on her face felt fake but apparently Percy believed it because he smiled back at her and said 'cool'.

They sat together in silence as Hazel sang the lyrics to Helena Beat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy mouthing the words and tapping his foot to the rhythm. Suddenly Reyna remembered something.

"I didn't know this was a date," she told him. Reyna caught Percy by surprise because he gave her a startled look and quickly regained his composure. He rubbed his chin in wistful contemplation.

Finally, after what seemed like 5ever, he replied, "It isn't but I'd really like to take you out on one sometime."

Reyna bit back a smile. Inside something brief fluttered in her stomach—the first of many butterflies were being born. It was a strange feeling to her. She was going to give Percy her reply when Leo Valdez stumbled over with an Asian boy. The Asian boy clutched the edge of a table, looking like he was about to hurl.

Immediately, Percy got up to check on him and offer Leo support. Together they sat the boy down at a nearby table and started asking him questions. He closed his eyes and hung his head low. Reyna wondered what was going on. She slid off the bar stool and went over to them to offer any assistance.

"We have to take Frank home…or to the bathroom," Leo said urgently. He started to help the boy, Frank, up again but Frank swatted him away.

"No, no, I jus need wa-er," he slurred. He dropped his head again and his body convulsed. Reyna wondered if they should call 911. Perhaps he was having some attack due to the lights or something. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Percy ordered Leo to find Frank something to drink. The curly haired boy didn't look happy but after getting a death glare from Reyna, he set out to find Frank a beverage.

Reyna felt awkward simply standing there. She wanted to help…so she did something even more awkward. She reached out to pat Frank on the head. His dark hair felt spiky under her palms. Percy furrowed his eyebrows at her and even Frank stopped convulsing a little to say, "I'm not dog."

She snatched her hand away, embarrassed. Soon after, Frank's body convulsed again. Percy gripped his shoulder and leaned into his ear. "It's okay buddy, you'll be al—"

"ASDFGHJJK!" (Noise Frank made when he threw up)

Reyna didn't have time to react. Before she knew it, there was a weird, clumpy, red mixture on her boots. She stared at it, not understanding at first and then stepped back. It made a weird _slosh_ sound. This cannot be happening, she thought, raising a foot up. Some chunks slid off her foot and onto the floor. She barely registered Frank muttering, "Sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm _so_ sorry."

Percy looked disgusted as he stared at Reyna's shoes. He had dragged the collar of his orange t-shirt up to his nose and had backed up several feet behind Frank.

Reyna pinched her nose, silently scolding herself for trying to help. If she had only stayed at the bar. Percy began to say something but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a retch. Then another, and another until he was dry heaving beside Frank.

She glanced around and saw Leo running towards them, glass in hand. Oh no. No.

He began breathlessly, "I couldn't find any water but Piper left her—"

His foot slipped and he lost control. Fortunately for him, when slid in the vomit Leo managed to regain his balance crashed into Frank. The cup he had been holding, full of strawberry smoothie, hadn't been so lucky. It sailed through the air and splattered all over the floor. And not to mention on Reyna's favorite shirt and hair.

The teens got quiet. Percy had stopped gagging for a minute to look at Reyna even more horrified than before. Frank had a bashful look on his face and Leo—he was trying not to laugh.

After that Reyna simply turned on her heel and marched into the bar and behind the kitchen. She rinsed her boots in the mop sink and did her best to cleanse her hair. The more she wiped, the more it matted itself into her scalp. With a sigh, she returned to the front, trailing a mop and bucket behind her. They boys were nowhere to be seen.

Reyna got to work, cleaning up the smoothie and vomit mix to the best of her ability. She figured to had five minutes until Blue Plastic Hairbrush's show finished. She had managed to clean everything up in 3.

And now, as people were leaving, she had a few minutes until closing. She was tired and overwhelmed and her shirt was wet. Reyna just wanted to go home. She picked up a stack of plates, carried them to the back to begin washing. Hands reached out to impede her from filling the sink up with sanitizer. "How 'bout you go home?" Skinny told her. In one swift movement, he shut off the water and directed her to the dining area. He eyed her skeptically. Percy had probably told him what had happened. Before Reyna could protest, he cut in. "It's a school night."

Now Reyna wasn't about to argue. She nodded, mumbled a brief thank you to him and picked up her back pack. Thankfully her CTA card was in her back pocket so she didn't have to waste time rummaging around her bag. If she hurried, she could probably catch the 10 o'clock train.

She was halfway down a block when she spotted Percy and his friends. Reyna cursed quietly in Spanish. They were headed for the train station too.

She trailed along behind them, looking at everything except them. She could hear the cheery sounds of laughter coming from their group. Reyna felt a slight stab inside her. One day she wished to be part of something like that. Maybe in college things would be different.

They bounded up the stairs to the platform, pausing at the ticket scanner where there was a line of 15 kids or so. She cursed again and looked down at her shoes. _Don't draw attention to yourself, Reyna. _

T he line began to move. If Reyna could just sneak past and get to the other side of the tracks, she could get lost in the crowd and never have to face Percy and Leo again.

Sadly, fate didn't want to let Reyna off that easy. The line had gotten down to 8 people when Piper yelled, "Reyna! Over here!" She waved her over furiously.

Reyna smiled weakly at her and made her way over. She was surprised to see the other band members, along with Leo, Percy and the blond boy Reyna recognized. But no Frank. _Hm._

"Where are you off to?" Piper asked her, eyeing Reyna up and down. Reyna caught several of the others doing the same, probably thinking 'Damn, she looks like shit right now'. Percy wouldn't meet her eyes and Leo's tanned face was the color of strawberries.

"Uhh, to the loop."

Piper clapped her hands. "Cool, me and Hazel are too. We have to take the Green back to the 'burbs."

Reyna glanced at Hazel who looked like she had a permanent pout on her face.

"You guys aren't from the city?" Reyna asked stupidly. Duh. She just said they were from the 'burbs.

"Sadly, no. _Haze_ and I are from Oak Park. You know, where Hemingway lived?"

"Uh, no." Was Hemingway some famous pop star or something? "Is he from TV?"

Piper blinked then frowned. Nico barked out a laugh. It was so weird and out of character for him that even his friends were startled. It was finally their turn to scan their tickets. First Thalia, then the blond boy, Nico, Leo, Hazel, Piper and then Reyna. Percy had managed to linger behind and waved his arm dramatically at her, saying, "Aprez-vous."

Piper and Hazel were waiting for Reyna. Apparently it had been decided that they would all travel together until Reyna got onto the Pink and the girls onto the Green. The rest of their friends were going to take the Red a few stops uptown to their homes. The nice homes.

As they waited, they made small chatter. Piper imitated Nico's laugh, earning chuckles from the rest and an embarrassed look from Nico. In the short five minutes that Reyna spent with them she found out that the blond boy was Jason, Thalia's younger brother. Also that Thalia was an apparel and merchandizing student at Columbia U. Frank, Hazel's boyfriend, had received a mysterious call from his mother and caught a cab back home. _Cough._ Leo, Percy and Jason were seniors at Lakeview. Frank and Nico were juniors, like Hazel and Piper. Percy was from New York, and Hazel was from New Orleans. Jason, Thalia and Leo were neighbors. Piper's mom was dating Frank's dad which was how Frank met Hazel, and how Piper and Hazel met the rest of his friends. It was complicated and made Reyna confused but one thing was for sure—they were all connected to each other in some way or another and their bonds were unbreakable.

When it was Reyna's turn to talk, she simply told them she was from Puerto Rico and that she was a senior. They seemed kind of disappointed that she was reluctant to share more information about her. They didn't pry though, she was thankful for that.

The tracks began to rumble and she saw her train coming close. Piper hugged everyone goodbye and promised to see them on Sunday. Reyna simply gave the others a feeble wave of goodbye.

The train started to zoom past them, whipping Reyna's ponytail around. She felt someone tug her back. It was Percy.

He was blushing, a shy smile playing his lips. In the dull light of the train station, she could finally make out that his eyes were a forest green. "I was wondering…well, uh beforeyougocanIhaveyournumber? I meant what I said earlier."

The train screeched to a halt and passengers started to spill out. Reyna was dumbfounded. He still wanted her number? Was she living in a parallel universe?

"REYNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," Piper called, filing into the train with Hazel. The two girls took seats in the back of the car, saving one for Reyna before they filled up.

Reyna figured she had approximately ten seconds before the doors closed. She began to back away from Percy. His face looked hurt that she was leaving without giving him her number. But as Reyna backed into the car she called out to him, "Six. Four. Six. Eight….." The doors closed but Reyna kept mouthing the numbers to him through the window.

Eight. One. Three.

Percy smiled brilliantly at her. The last thing she saw as the train departed was Percy mumbling to himself, typing furiously into his phone.

* * *

**So school started and I'm already overwhelmed. I did not miss verb conjugations and seminar texts. **

**Anyway, here is the next chapter. I will try to update the story on Wednesdays and Saturdays, depending on how much workload I have yadayada. Also, I'm really really BAD with titles. Does anyone have a good title for it otherwise the titles will be based on songs. I don't really want to see the titles become 'Wu-Tang, Wrecking Ball or Pumped up Kicks'**

**You know the drill. Love it? Hate it? Reviews are greatly appreciated or share it with your FF buddies.**

**Til next time amig s. **

**Passy**


	4. Coffee, Please

**This is a work of fiction. All rights go to Rick Riordan.**

**That being said, enjoy. **

IV

Three days had passed since the smoothie fiasco. Two long and agonizing days. Reyna hadn't dared to show up at Skinny's. She was afraid she might run into Percy or Leo or worse—Frank. Reyna had no desire in getting puked on once more.

Two days had passed since she had given Percy her number. It was now Saturday and her phone was quiet. If a boy liked you he was supposed to text you right away, right? It was, like, law. If it wasn't, Reyna sincerely hoped someone would get that bill started and sent to capitol hill right away. She finally felt like a normal teen having boy issues. Reyna didn't understand how girls dealt with this silence constantly. It was a pain in the ass constantly babysitting her phone for a call or a text that would never come. The times that she did get a text were from her sister Hylla, barely replying from Reyna's text on Monday and Piper asking her what her shoe size was. Reyna regretted swapping numbers with Piper the other day on the train but Piper had practically cornered her. Plus, Reyna couldn't say 'no' with Hazel's infinite pouty face staring her.

Today was a boring day. Reyna had woken up to no texts—_ningun perro que le ladrara_—not even a dog to bark at her. Her mother blasted music throughout the house and the Caribbean sounds of salsa filled the air. Together they knocked out chores and breakfast so by the time her father woke up, a steamy breakfast of scrambled eggs in green sauce awaited them on the table. They ate together, recounting stories about their week. They laughed when Reyna told them she had gotten puked on and dumped with smoothie. Her mother told stories about the crazy antics kids did at the day care where she worked. He father stayed quiet, offering sarcastic comments every now and then. He worked for Advanced Disposal so he rarely spoke about his job. Talking about garbage wasn't the kind of topic to chat about at the dinner table. Her father was a quiet man with tanned, golden skin like Reyna. His hair was lighter than his daughters', and was peppered with silver hairs. He had a coarse salt and pepper mustache atop of his full lips. His eyes were a warm light brown framed with crows feet from too much smiling. Save for the light eyes, Reyna looked like her papá. She was proud to have his DNA and blood running through her veins.

Today mamá and papá were going to spend some quality time together as they bought Hylla things for her care package. They invited Reyna but she refused with the excuse that she had to study for her upcoming Spanish exam. Mamá nodded in agreement, telling Reyna that she needed her strengthen her Spanish so she could pass it onto her kids.

"Abuelita no speaks good English, m'ija."

Reyna assured her that her kids, _ew,_ would be spouting Spanish and English left and right. After the Ramírez-Arellano family finished eating, they all cleaned the table. Reyna's dad took his daughters hand and twirled her around to the beat of the salsa song. He salsa-ed back and forth, pulling Reyna along with fluidity and then deposited her back in the kitchen where he twirled Reyna's mother into a kiss. Reyna laughed and excused herself to her room.

The rest of the afternoon had passed in silence. Reyna did indeed study for Spanish but she also guarded her phone like a rabid beast.

Nothing.

Around 6:30 her mother peeked in, announcing they had arrived and that dinner was in half an hour. Reyna was clearing her bed and shuffling homework away when her iPhone beeped. She dropped her book bag onto the floor and lunged for her phone.

**[6:32] **

**773-992-0818: Reyna?**

Reyna's heart started beating frantically. Could it be?

**[6:35]**

**Reyna: This is her.**

**773-992-0818: THANK GODS. It's Percy. **

_Play it cool, Reyna. _

**[6:38]**

**Reyna: Oh, cool. **

**773-992-0818: I kno you probably think I'm awful 4 not texting you asap but I've spent the last few days trying diff variations of the #s u gave me. Guess I'm not good at lip reading lol**

Reyna winced. So it was her fault she had been living in agony the past few days. Dammit. Before she could type a reply, her phone beeped again.

**[6:39]**

**773-992-0818: But I'm glad I finally got a hold of you.**

Reyna could barely control her emotions. She did however resist the urge to squeal. d_Chill,_ she told herself. While she thought of something cool to write, she saved Percy's number into her phone. When she finally knew how to answer him, her fingers flew as they replied. In the end, she didn't keep her cool and replied with…

**[6:41]**

**Reyna: Me too : )**

**Percy: : )**

Her mother called for her again and Reyna decided that talking to Percy could wait. Her mother was much scarier and important than a boy. She raced downstairs for dinner. It took her 15 minutes to eat the _pollo agridulce_ (sweet and sour) and rice her mother had made. She gulped down the blood red hibiscus water and excused herself. Her mother gave her a dirty look and said to sit her butt back down but Reyna's father gave her the okay. He noticed that Reyna's mind was on something else tonight. She planted a kiss on her papá's forehead and raced up the stairs. She was gone by the time papá took his wife's hand, his eyes crinkling along with his smile and told her, "Cinco dolares que es un muchacho." Five bucks it's a boy.

Back in her room, Reyna plopped herself onto her bed and unlocked her phone. 6 unread messages. One from Hylla and the rest from Percy. Her finger lingered on the chat threads before she replied to Hylla's message. Quick, one worded, done. Next she took a deep breath and read Percy's.

**[6: 43]**

**Percy: R u busy?**

**Percy: What r u up2?**

**[6:49]**

**Percy: Reyna**

**Percy:Reynnnnna?! :(**

**[6:54]**

**Percy: -millions of frowny face emojis-**

Reyna laughed at the emojis. She had downloaded them onto her phone but had never found the right use for them. Normally she sent out dry, simple messages. But this was different. She knew it. She inserted an overwhelmed emoji along with….

[7:00]

**Reyna: Here. Sorry, I was having dinner**

**Percy: Yum, did u save me some? lol**

**Reyna: Hah, you wish. **

**Percy: :(**

**Percy: What kind of footwear does a greek god wear?**

Reyna frowned. What was it with shoes? First Piper and now Percy..

**Reyna: I don't know. **

**Percy: Tennis Zeus. Lol ur turn**

Reyna laughed at her phone. He was so dorky. She scratched her head and tried to think of a good joke.

**[7:03]**

**Reyna: Knock knock**

**Percy: Who's there?**

Reyna bit her lip. Opened up her Facebook. Then her tumblr. Her phone beeped several in times in the process. 8 minutes had passed since she last replied to Percy. She ignored it and scrolled through her emails. Ooh, Sport Authority was having a sale. Before she could click the link for more info, the screen went black and Percy was calling her. Reyna hovered over the decline button but slid the answer option. The first thing she heard was Percy's laugh and then he said, "You think you're so funny, don't you?"

Reyna laughed along. "I didn't think you'd get it."

Percy shuffled on the other line. "At first I didn't. Then it registered and I was like, oh that sneaky one."

Reyna laughed again. They were silent for a moment before Percy asked, "So what are you doing?"

"Nothing, really. Laying in bed, bored."

"What are you wearing?" he asked, his voice dipping low.

"Percy!" Reyna exclaimed, her cheeks turning red. She was glad Percy couldn't see her expression.

"What?" he defended innocently. "I just wanna know what kind of girl I'm dealing with. Do you wear matching PJ's or are you more of a t-shirt and shorts girl."

"Neither, actually," she joked.

"Oh?" Percy was silent and then he laughed. "I want to see you. Can I see you tomorrow?"

Reyna nodded but remember he couldn't see her. "Yeah, I'm free tomorrow. What time?"

Percy shuffled around some more. Reyna could faintly make out someone talking to him in the background and the sounds of dishes. "How about 6? At Skinny's. My friends and I are going to catch a movie. They wanted to see you too."

Reyna pondered this for a moment. She wondered if they were the same friends from the other night. If so, she had no desire in seeing Leo and Frank again. Plus, Piper kind of gave her the creeps—she was _too happy_ and positive for Reyna.

On the other line, Percy cleared his throat. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the one who wanted to see you the most." Reyna smiled at that. She caved in and agreed to meeting Percy. He drawled out a 'yesssssssss'.

They spent an hour on the phone together. Percy mainly talked about New York while Reyna listened. He talked about his best friend Grover and Beckendorf back home. He told Reyna that he like blue food. Yes, _blue food_. Like blueberries, blue tortilla chips, blue steaks and blue cakes. Reyna thought it was kind of weird but she accepted it. In return she told Percy that all of her food had to be spicy in order for her to enjoy it. He admitted to her that he couldn't each spicy without ending up hours in the bathroom. He was an only child and lived with his mother and step-dad. His biological father traveled a lot, studying marine animals. Percy only saw him in summer months when he came to celebrate Percy's birthday. He seemed fine by it. His argument was that he was around a lot during the early child rearing years. Now, he wasn't confined to the good morals of being a parent and did his own thing. She also found his father's name funny—Poseidon. Like that movie about a ship Reyna had seen, featuring Fergie. Percy laughed and added, "More like Poseidon, the sea god." Huh. _And people thought latin names were funny, she thought. _

Compared to Poseidon, her father's name Genaro seemed normal. Percy asked about her. She told him the basics. Reyna. Puerto Rican. Senior.

"No, no, no. I want you to really tell me about you."

So she did. She told him her full name: Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. Percy whistled asking if she could spell it out for him. She didn't, obviously. She told him about her life in Puerto Rico. About how different people were there versus in America. She told him about her transition to the United States, how she had been the subject to bullying several times because of her accent. Reyna admitted to him that she liked talking over the phone rather than texting because his texts bothered her.

When Percy acted all offended, promising to never text her again, she simply told him that she was a grammar Nazi and that she hated when people texted all stupid. "For god sakes, you have an iPhone. There's spellcheck."

"I'm a rebel like that."

They talked about anything and everything until Reyna yawned. "Your yawns are so cute," he said to her. She could hear the smile forming on Percy's face on the other line.

As much as Reyna protested, Percy told her to go to sleep. They said their goodbyes and goodnights. The phone was silent save for their breathing. "Hang up," Percy told her.

"No, you hang up," she replied, her voice turning steely.

"Nooooo, you."

Reyna rolled her eyes and hung up first. As she tucked herself into bed, she wondered if that had been the right move. Weren't they supposed to do that for, like, an hour? She hoped Percy wouldn't take it to heart.

6 o'clock couldn't come any sooner. Reyna busied herself doing pointless chores. She found places to clean that she didn't know existed. When there was nothing to clean, Reyna emptied out her drawer, picked out things that needed ironing and folded the rest according to color and style. It wasn't very hard because most of her clothing included t-shirts, long sleeves, camis all in assorted purples, blacks, greys, whites and navys. She wasn't a big fan of yellows, pinks or oranges. Reyna felt like they made her stand out too much. When she to finished organizing and ironing, she changed into running shoes and shorts and went to the basement. Downstairs, the Ramírez-Arellano family had transformed the basement into a sort of den where Hylla, Reyna and her dad would go to watch soccer games without fear of spilling food on mom's nice couches. A huge Puerto Rican flag hung on the wall, along with portraits of their family back home. More artifacts from Puerto Rico were piled onto the walls. Wedged towards the back of room was Reyna's treadmill. Reyna cranked up the stereo to whatever song her ipod picked. She stretched out her long limbs before jumping onto the machine.

She felt the familiar rush of adrenalin spread throughout her body. Reyna figured that people ran to be alone with their thoughts but her, she liked it because it made her focus on her body rather than life. The only thing that mattered was pushing forward—one step after another. If she didn't push herself, she'd take a nasty fall. Reyna pushed and pushed. Her body screamed out, fighting against her but it wasn't what her body wanted. She wasn't about to listen to her weak limbs and organs. Her mind was the center of attention. The one that really mattered.

Time ticked by. She lost herself in the music and the _thump thump_ of her feet hitting the treadmill. Reyna glanced at machine's screen. She'd been running for 25 minutes and was almost near 3 miles. She wiped sweat out of her eyes and pushed on. After what felt like forever, the treadmill read 3.2 miles. She changed the settings to cool down. The noise in her head resumed. She remembered that in 3 hours she'd be meeting Percy.

Reyna hopped off the treadmill, turned off the stereo and bounded back upstairs. Her mother greeted her as she crossed the kitchen.

"There's some mail for you," she said in her native tongue. When Reyna ignored her and proceeded to pick some tomatoes from the bowl she held, her mother said. "Some _big_ envelopes." That got Reyna. She stopped in her tracks, a juicy tomato slice hovering near her mouth. For weeks she had been waiting for admission letters from universities. She popped the tomato into her mouth, wiping the juice on her shirt and reached for the envelopes strewn on the dining table. There were at least three. One marked with the University of Illinois at Chicago. Another one with DePaul University and the last with the University of Santa Monica. Reyna drew in a deep breath and took the mail upstairs.

"Reyna?" her mother called after.

Back in her room, Reyna shoved the mail under her bed and padded over to the bathroom. After a quick shower, Reyna changed into a silky black camisole, skinny jeans and a deep violet cardigan. She dried her hair to the best of her abilities. She debated on leaving her hair down and after much thinking; she braided the front and clipped it to the back. Now for make-up. Reyna pulled out a kit from under the sink—a gift from her sister. She wasn't the biggest advocate for make-up. In fact, Reyna despised that girls had to cake their faces up in order for guys to even glance at them. But everyone was different. Reyna knew girls at school who argued that make-up was an art for them. Their faces were the canvases that were accompanied by brushed and decorated with paints, mattes and glitter. Reyna on the other hand preferred her natural beauty. Still, tonight she found herself curling her eyelashes and applying a thick coat of mascara around her already jet black lashes. She stepped back, and admired her work.

"¿Quién eres y que le has hecho a mi hija? (Who are you and what have you done with my daughter)" her mother said from the doorway. Reyna was startled and almost smeared red lip tip tint across her chin.

"Mamá!" exclaimed Reyna. Her mother stood poised on the threshold, a smirk on her face. Her dark hair was pulled into a high bun. She took the lip tint from Reyna and tapped her daughter's lips to part. Reyna obeyed and stared at her mother as she maneuvered the tint across her lips.

"You were doing it wrong," she told her daughter. "You want your lips to be irresistible, no?"

Reyna blushed. "Maaa," she complained. But her mother was right—that had been Reyna's goal.

Her mother instructed Reyna to pop her lips. She stepped back looking satisfied and offered Reyna a warm smile. "Bella."

When it was time to head out, Reyna's dad almost fell off the couch as he caught sight of his daughter. "Am I forgetting something?"

Reyna rolled her eyes, kissed his forehead, leaving a faint red mark on him. She promised him that she'd be safe and that she wouldn't leave her drink unattended. Eye roll. That wasn't enough. He actually volunteered to walk her to the train station. They walked in silence for a block until he grabbed hold of her hand. Reyna smiled at her papá. She was just happy he wasn't prying for information.

It was 6:10 when Reyna arrived. She was out of breath as she ran to Skinny's. Outside of the place, there was a crowd of teens. At least 10 of them. "She's not coming man," someone said. Leo Valdez. Reyna could make his elfish face among the group.

"Let me just call to—there she is. See?" Percy's proud voice rang above the others. He stepped away from the crowd, and pulled Reyna into a small, polite hug. She was greeted by everyone else—a tackle hug from Piper, a kiss on the cheek from Hazel, a nod from Valdez, a punch from Thalia and an embarrassed wave from Frank. Jason simply nodded at her though his intense stare felt like Reyna was being shocked by lighting. She glanced quickly away and noticed two other people along with them. Nico and a redheaded girl with a flurry of freckles. Rachel. She looked pretty miffed. She kept glaring at Percy who had tossed his arm over Reyna's shoulder. Only Reyna seemed to take not of this. She met Rachel's gaze, chin jutted upward. Rachel was smarter than she looked. She understood, and with a huff, turned away.

They walked over a few blocks to the movies. On the way, Piper and Hazel filled them in on the latest private school gossip. Who had hooked up with whom, and who had gotten busted for possession. Thalia hung in the back with Nico, talking about some figurine game? Reyna frowned. It hardly seemed like a card game that Thalia would play. Still, every once in a while there was something that brought out the child in people. For Reyna, it was candy stores. She was being asked something. Reyna blinked. "What?"

Hazel laughed. The other joined in. "I asked how you managed to get the smoothie out of your hair. It looks fantastic today," she said in a small voice. The others stared expectantly at Reyna. When Hazel saw the confused look upon her face, she held up her iPhone. "Group chat. Frank told us what really happened."

Reyna looked at Frank. He averted his gaze.

"I didn't. I left it in as a conditioner," she joked. Only it came out dryly. Hazel laughed nervously, unsure whether or not Reyna was joking.

"Kidding."

"Oh," she blew out.

"Yeah, there are waaay better eco-friendly conditioners out there," Piper put in.

At the cinema, there was a disagreement. One group wanted to watch the Life of Pi while the other wanted to watch Rise of the Guardians. They decided to split up at meet at the Starbucks down the block at 9:30. Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Rachel went to watch the Life of Pi. Thalia, Nico, Jason and Leo bought their tickets for Rise of the Guardians. Percy, being the perfect gentleman asked Reyna to pick. She sensed that he really wanted to join the Rise of the Guardians group. She picked that one and grinned when Percy whooped in response. He paid for their tickets, and a medium popcorn.

"One large coke," he added.

They took seats behind the others. Leo peeked out at them a couple of times and gave them a sly look. Puh-lease. The movie was funny. It made Reyna giggle at some points. She even developed a tiny little crush on the main character who happened to remind her of Jason. A lot.

Towards the middle of the movie, Percy had slipped his hand into hers. Reyna didn't dare to look at him. Instead she squished his hand a little tighter. They sat like that for the rest of the movie. She could her Thalia sniffling in front of her as the movie came to an ending. Reyna was glad they had picked this movie. Sure, the Life of Pi probably a more philosophical meaning in it but Rise of the Guardians struck a chord.

"He sees me? HE SEES ME!" Jack Frost said on screen. Reyna gripped Percy's hand a little tighter. She saw him move out of her peripheral vision. His eyes were trained on her with such intensity that Reyna had to face him. Their eyes met briefly in the darkness. She could see the shiny popcorn residue on his parted lips. His breathing was heavy and his hand trembled in hers.

"Percy," she whispered. Colors from the screen illuminated his face in an assortment of shades. His eyes seemed to catch gold, blue and purples from the projection. She wondered if Percy would kiss her right then and there, the timing and mood being perfect and all. He inched forward, as did Reyna. Their noses were touching now and the contact shocked Reyna. She'd never felt more away and alive in her life.

_He sees me._

"IN YOUR FACE BOOGEYMAN!" Leo yelled as the antagonist was defeated. Percy pushed back, startled and sunk low into his seat. Reyna went rigid in hers, face impassive as if nothing had happened. The movie finished and Thalia jumped out of her seat and ran to the bathroom. Reyna followed in suit. She managed to dump popcorn onto Leo's head which he responded with a "Hey!"

She found Thalia in front of the mirror, dabbing at her eyeliner that now streaked across her speckled cheeks. Reyna watch from a distance. It puzzled her how the punkish girl had gotten that emotional from the movie. It was good but it was no 'My Sister's Keeper'. She washed the butter off her hands and did a quick teeth check for stray kernels. After she was done, she grabbed a paper towel and turned to a struggling Thalia.

"Let me help you," she told the raven haired girl. Thalia seemed surprised but let Reyna wipe at her cheeks. Up close, Reyna could really see how flawless Thalia's face was. Her freckles decorated her nose and ventured over her cheeks. They weren't exaggerated like Rachel's, in fact they seemed perfectly placed. Her eyes were an electrifying blue—like Jason's. Reyna tried to place what exact kind of blue they were but she found it difficult. The best she could manage was that they resembled the sky.

"You don't understand," Thalia said. Reyna raised an eyebrow and blotted the other cheek. "I can see it in your eyes. You think I'm silly for crying over a movie…a children's movie."

Reyna stepped back to examine her work. The rubbing had given Thalia a rosy pallor across her cheeks. She pursed her lips and threw the napkin away. Yet Thalia continued, "It's just that I've always been an outcast like Jack. Yes, I'm hanging out with you guys but in truth, these are Jason's friends."

"Where are yours?" Reyna asked. Her eyes leveled with Thalia's and she could see the regret and growing sadness in them. The blue didn't seem so dazzling anymore. It was empty and cold.

"I haven't spoken to them in a year," she whispered. "And it's my entire fault."

Reyna turned to the mirror, and applied a light coat of lip tint to her plump lips. Even facing the mirror, she didn't remove her eyes from Thalia's sullen face. "Perhaps you should fix that."

Thalia nodded. She blinked several times before and she frowned at Reyna. "I should check up on the boys. Can't leave them alone for too long or else they'll start World War III."

Reyna smirked, and followed Thalia out of the bathrooms. Before the rounded the lobby, Thalia paused dead in her tracks and hugged Reyna. Her sky blue eyes glittered once more. "Welcome to the family, Reyna," she whispered in her ear before she turned and marched on. Reyna's heart did a flip.

Reyna found herself walking next to Percy, a block behind Leo, Jason, Nico and Thalia. Percy kept raving on and on about the cute Yetis. Especially the one who's work was never appreciated. "I feel like I'm that Yeti. I'll always try my best but no one really sees it. They always want me to please them. Well what about what Percy wants? What if I want to drop out and sell candy on the street? How come no one listens to what I want?"

Reyna nodded. The fact that he considered selling candy on the street bothered her—that was no joking matter. Back home kids did do that for a living. On busy tourist streets where they'd suffer from abuse, violence, get hit by cars, and sometimes even rape. She hoped Percy had been joking about that. He didn't know how good he really had it. She was feeling relieved when she spotted the green Starbucks sign up ahead. She didn't really feel like Percy's privilege boy problems.

Up ahead, Percy's friends disappeared into the warm glow of the café. Apparently that was Percy's cue to tug Reyna into a dank alley and push her up against the wall. Terror seized her. She ran through every strategic move to disable a rapist. Groin. Twist his arm. Use nails. Scream. Fight.

Just as she was about to jerk her knee up, Percy ran a trembling hand over her cheek. His breath came out uneven and heavy. His dark green eyes searched her face. "You look so beautiful right now," Percy whispered. Another arm snaked around to her waist, resting on her lower back. Reyna didn't know what to say or whether she should say anything. She had been caught off guard. She had never expected this. Had she known, she would've popped a breath strip into her mouth prior to leaving the bathroom.

Percy nuzzled her nose with his. She could feel his warm breath against her face, his oceany smell wafted in the air, the heat of his hand seared the skin beneath her close. Reyna gulped and took a shaky breath. With the adrenaline running throughout her body, she reached out to wrap her arms around Percy's neck and her lips crashed with his. It was Percy's turn to be surprised. His mouth went still for a millisecond before his brain processed Reyna's lips on his. He had planned on a short, sweet, teasing kiss but Reyna had other ideas. Her movements were passionate and full of need. Her tongue had snaked its way into her mouth and had joined Percy's in a dance of dominance.

Reyna had to admit, Percy held his ground. She tangled her hands into his hair, overwhelmed and turned on by the whole experience. Making out against the wall in a dark alley? Sketchy but hot. A soft gasped escaped her lips and Percy, boldly took this response to lower his hand to palm her bottom. Reyna detached her herself from him and let out a laugh. A real laugh, big and hearty. Percy licked his lips and stared at her confused. Soon he, too, caught her contagious laughter. He leaned into her neck laughing at her laugh. Reyna sighed, content and wrapped Percy into a hug. They stood like that in the silence of the dark alley, just the two of them disappearing from the craziness of the world. Finally Percy lifted his head from her neck and kissed her once more, sticking to his original kiss. Sweet and short. He clasped his hand with hers and tugged her back toward the real world.

In the bright glow of the café, Reyna could make out their friends packed into two tables. Hazel and Frank stood in line ordering. Percy and Reyna joined them. Once Hazel and Frank moved out the way Percy moved forward to request his drink. "Uhhhhhh…a Venti caramel frappe, a cheese Danish and whatever else my girlfriend wants."

Reyna blinked as four pairs of eyes settled on her—the cashier's, Percy's, Hazel's and Frank's. Wait, had Percy really called her his girlfriend? She turned to him, puzzled. He was staring at her, chewing on his bottom lip and eyes wide and sparkling. Reyna knew that look, that emotion. She'd seen it a lot on her parent's face when they moved to the U.S.

_Hope._

It registered in her brain what Percy was doing. If she ordered, that was her saying 'yes' and accepting to be his girlfriend, to be his. If she didn't, she'd pay for herself and keep it on the friends level. He was also putting himself out there, in front of the Starbucks employee and his friends. She admired that. It was kind of cute too. She wasn't a big fan of elaborate displays of affection so this was nice. It was better than a text too. But she barely knew Percy. It had been what like 3 days since their meeting at Skinny's, how could he move so fast? Still, as she stared into his green eyes she couldn't shake the feeling off that this was destined to be. As cheesy as it seemed. For some reason, Percy had been sent into her life and because of him, it was slowly changing. Because he saw her.

"I'll have a grande caramel macchiato," she told the employee, linking her arm with Percy's. The Starbucks employee nodded and punched in the order on the register. Reyna quirked her mouth into a sly smile as Percy handed over his card and stared at her in surprise. He took his card back from cashier and pulled Reyna into a kiss. Right there. In Starbucks. In front of customers, the crew members, their friends and God as their witnesses, they had made themselves an official couple.

As Percy and Reyna took their drinks to the adjoined tables, everyone kept nodding and smiling at them in approval. Everyone except Rachel. But Reyna easily dismissed that. She wrapped her hand around her cup as the conversations picked up,looked around the table-at her new friends and at her boyfriend-deciding that the biggest smile was the one plastered onto her face.

* * *

**First, I just want to thank you for all your reviews, favorites, and support!**

**I posted this chapter a day early because I work a double shift tomorrow and will be slaving away. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think. Like it? Hate it? Should Reyna be with someone else? **

**Hope you all enjoy the weekend and those of you in America, the long weekend. **

**Passy**


	5. Te quiero con limon y sal

**I don't own Percy Jackson or The Heroes of Olympus.**

**V**

Two weeks had passed since Reyna and Percy had become a couple. They'd hung out a couple of times….it mainly consisted of them meeting halfway to Skinny's, doing homework and eating whatever dinner Skinny made for them. Sometimes Reyna would stay later than 8 to help clean, but it was rare. She always told Percy she didn't want to travel so long and so late at night. Each time, Percy was the perfect gentleman and offered to ride home with her but Reyna argued it'd be a waste of two hours and dangerous for him. She _did_ let him walk with her to the train stop and wait with her until her train came. Even if it mean having to miss his own when her train was late. Reyna appreciated the sweet gestures from him. Right away he seemed fond and protective of her, just like Reyna imagined a good boyfriend would be.

Before they would part ways, Percy always suffocated Reyna in a hug and told her, "Call me when you get home safely." If she didn't call within an hour and a half, he'd be blowing up her phone, worried. Sometimes she wouldn't answer just for dramatic effect. She liked being worried about. She liked having Percy at the palm of her hand.

Reyna had just gotten out of her European History class and was on her way to lunch with Miguel when her phone started vibrating in her back pocket. She ignored it, served herself her lunch and sat down with Miguel. Her phone rang about two more times until she finally plucked it out of the pocket of her jeans. Percy. She sighed, exasperated because she really wanted to eat, and sent him a quick text, _'Can't talk. What's up?'_

She had just set the phone down when he replied 'URGENT'. It could wait, right? She was halfway done with her hamburger when the phone rang/vibrated again. She had set her phone on the table so the vibrating effect resonated against the wood. Miguel was in deep conversation with his girlfriend and stopped to peer at Reyna's screen. It read PERCY and had a picture of him seductively eating a French fry, ketchup on his chin. Reyna snatched up the phone up but it was too late, her friend had seen it. He scowled at her. "Who's Percy?" he asked.

Miguel's girlfriend, Katie, scowled at her too although it was more unsure than Miguel's.

"Family friend," Reyna said in between bites of her burger. She met her friend's scowl with one of her own.

Miguel finally tore his eyes from her and picked at his food. He looked…disappointed? Upset? "I'm not buying it, Reyna."

Reyna shrugged, and quickly finished her food in silence. Katie and Miguel had resumed their conversation but every so often, she caught Miguel looking her way. Katie looked at her too but only because she was following Miguel's gaze. After a few minutes, Reyna couldn't stand it and she got up to throw her lunch away. Someone whistled at her.

She curled her lips in disgust as the boys' soccer team began to make obscene gestures at her. One of them thrust his hips while another faked a high pitched moan. Reyna hated the boys at her school. They were immature and they didn't know how to respect women. She turned her back on them and went back to her table, head held high.

"Que culo," someone yelled at her. _What an ass._

It was like this almost every day for her. Dirty gestures, cat calling—sometimes the boys would even walk past her and whisper sexual things to her. Reyna had even complained to the school administration but they claimed that 'Boys will be boys' bullshit.

Reyna tried dressing down most of the time in hopes that the boys would ignore her. Which was also another reason her wardrobe was so boring and repetitive. Same style and color t-shirts. Same bland colors. Hair in a ponytail and no makeup on her face. Still, the boys bothered her.

She knew she was good looking. For one, Reyna's mother was a blunt person and would've smothered her in foundation and lipstick if she wasn't. Two, Reyna had accumulated enough confidence to be able to look at herself in the mirror and see beauty reflected back. Reyna stood at 5 foot 6 inches, and had a permanently tanned complexion. She had glossy black hair that hung straight down to her mid-back but was usually up in a ponytail or a braid. Her eyes were big, dark and mischievous looking on her oval shaped face. Eyebrow game was strong. She had her father's full lips and nose, except it was smaller and more feminized—but still a bit big according to bullshit beauty standards—and a beauty mark, slightly bigger than a pencil mark, on the right side of her chin. She was curvaceous but fit from constant exercise and her previous years in track. Reyna might've been lacking in the breast department but her behind made up for it. It wasn't like she wanted a nice butt but she couldn't deny what her momma and ancestors had given her. She was Latina for goodness sakes. She didn't like to generalize because everyone's' body was a different architecture but Reyna had that typical "latina" figure with a fleshy behind and thighs. She knew from an early age that boys would stare and call after her.

Which is why she had mastered a signature bitch face, daring anyone to make a move on her. Guys usually ignored her, if they were smart. The others just shouted rude things to her but rarely approached her. The only guy who was sort of in her good graces was Miguel and even _he _stared.

Reyna had made it back to her table, picked up her bag and waved a goodbye to Katie and Miguel. Miguel's girlfriend looked elated to have her boyfriend all to herself. She waved goodbye a bit too eagerly.

The halls of her school were quiet. Occasionally Reyna would pass a classroom whose door was left open and she'd catch bits of what the teacher was teaching.

"Donne-moi les devoirs, s'il vous plait," a man said a heavy French accent.

Another teacher in a nearby class was explaining the Armenian genocide which Reyna thought was interesting. She wondered what class was that but moved on. She had to call Percy back.

She found a small alcove near the art wing and dialed him. Instantly, he picked up. There was laughter and chatter in the background. "Percyyyyy, aren't you going to finish your joke?" someone whined. Reyna could recognize that voice anywhere. Rachel.

"Reyna!" he said excitedly. "I'm glad you called." She was quiet on the line while he excused himself but threatened Leo that if he ate his food, he'd kick him in the…_you know_. Reyna rolled her eyes, but she was amused. She was not a big fan of the comical Leo Valdez. He reminded her too much of the jocks at her school with his sly grin and innuendos. He was the only other Latino amongst her new friends and she supposed she should've felt some kind of kinship bond with him but _nope._ After that time he had lamely tried to hit on her, Reyna just couldn't see them being friends like that.

"Okay," came Percy's voice. It was much quieter now. She wondered where he had run off to. The bathroom? Outside? A vacant class? Probably the hallway. "Sorry for being such a pain but the boys _(And Rachel,_ Reyna thought bitterly) reminded me that tomorrow is Frank's and Piper's parent's engagement party. I got an invitation like a month ago but parties aren't really my thing so I forgot. Anyway, I called Piper to see if I could add a plus one to my invite because I really don't want to be the only one stabbing myself in the face there."

He was quiet. Reyna was quiet. She traced the outline of a bird drawing as she processed what Percy said and groaned. "No, no, no Percy, you are not dragging me into this," she told him.

Percy whimpered on the other end, "Please Reyna? Please be my date. I don't want to get stuck with Leo at the kids table…or with Rache." Reyna groaned again, but this time she considered. She really didn't feel like partying and wearing heels but she also didn't want her boyfriend sitting with a girl who eye humped him every time he was near. He also asked nicely so….

With a final sigh, Reyna asked Percy, "What time is it?"

On the other side, Percy rejoiced. "It starts at 7, and dinner is at 7:30."

"So be there 7:15?"

"7:15," he agreed. They were quiet on the phone together. A silence that Reyna was particularly fond of. Every night before bed Percy would call her and they'd recount their day to each other. When they'd run out of things to say it'd be quiet for ten minutes, or more, not a sound save for their breathing. It was like a mutual agreement passed between them where they didn't necessarily have to talk but they enjoyed each others' company and didn't want to be alone.

"You know you're, like, the best girlfriend ever?"

Reyna rolled her eyes but smiled. She tried to hold emotion back in her voice as she replied, "But I'm the only girlfriend you've had."

"Hey," Percy whined. "You're the first serious girlfriend. I've had flings here and there."

Reyna's smiled faded. They'd talked about how many boyfriends/girlfriends they each had had. Percy said he'd dated around but nothing longer than a week. Reyna hadn't dated anyone. Still, it kind of hurt to know that there had been girls before her. Some of them prettier, smarter…maybe ever more experienced in the relationship department.

_No, Reyna. You're just as good as those girls. There's a reason he's still dating you, longer than he dated them. _

Percy must have realized his poor choice of words because he swore on the other line. "Shit. I'm sorry Reyna. I'm a dumbass."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. She glanced at the clock on the hallway wall. 7 minutes until next period. "I'll call you later?"

"No Skinny's?" Percy whined.

"Um, I need to find something to wear. I mean, you do want me to look nice, right?"

"I think you'd look beautiful, regardless of what you wore."

Reyna laughed, shifting her backpack onto her back. "God, you're such a cheeseball. I'm gonna hang up before I puke. Bye."

She ended the call and began to walk to her next period class where Miguel was waiting outside the door. He regarded her face as she came close and scowled. "Why are you red?"

Reyna just smiled at him and headed into the class without a word.

ii

Reyna went home directly home after school ended. She flung a backpack on a nearby couch and headed to the kitchen. Her mother was already home, filling the air with the aromas of spices and meats cooking. Reyna lifted the top of a pot for a peek and her mom slapped her hand back, muttering about contaminating her kitchen with her dirty hands. Dad would be home in an hour or so, so she had time to wash up. She ran upstairs to her room. Her bed was messy just as she had left it in the morning. Somehow that made it seem more inviting and comfortable. She stripped off her jeans, socks and her bra and crawled into bed. She had succumbed to slumber when her mothers' irritated voice woke her up, demanding she help set up the table. With a groan, Reyna put on some sweats and did as she was told.

Pretty soon the family was eating together, offering snippets of their day. As usual, her parents looked at her expectantly. Maybe tonight Reyna would share a bit about why she was always at Skinny's or why they could hear her laughing at 2 am in the morning. It wasn't like Reyna wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend. She was, but just as long as she kept her good grades and didn't get pregnant. Like mama would say, "No dejes que se coman la torta antes del recreo." Don't let them have lunch before recess/break . It didn't really make sense when she thought about it in English but basically it meant don't have sex until your married. Or before you date. Or you're engaged.

Reyna hated the saying. In her mind she believed it was her body and she could have sex with whomever she wanted. Two, ten, or one guy but they'd all be her choice. Except she didn't tell her mom that. Her parents were raised by Catholic families and they expected Reyna to follow the Catholic rules too.

Avoiding the sex talk wasn't the only reason why Reyna hadn't told her parents about Percy Jackson. She also hadn't told them because she knew they'd make a big deal, like when t her first period, and tell everybody. She and Percy had only been together for two weeks. It wasn't that serious, jeez. Who knew if they'd still be dating by the end of the week?

Another reason why she evaded the boyfriend subject was because…well, Reyna didn't know what her parents would say when she brought a white boy home. They weren't racist, no, far from it but they always expected her and Hylla to marry within the Latino community to preserve the culture.

Anyway, all eyes were on Reyna. She took a drink from her limeade water before she spoke. "Uh, school was boring. Test here, essay due there, lunch and lectures too."

Her parents glanced at each other for a moment before looking at their soups dejectedly. Reyna cleared her throat. "I also got invited to an engagement dinner tomorrow so I wondering if I could have permission…..?" She looked back and forth between the two. Her dad liked to think he wore the pants but in reality, Reyna's mom was the head of the family. All decisions were made and approved by her. To her relief both of them nodded.

"Who's engagement party is it?" her mother inquired, eyes slightly narrowing.

"My friend Piper's mom."

"Who the hell names their kid Piper," her father muttered, making a face as he took a swig of his beer.

"Who names their kid Reyna?" she countered, suddenly defensive of her too girly friend. Her father raised a thick eyebrow at her.

"Reyna is queen. Just like you, the queen of my heart."

Her mother tsked into her soup. She then asked how Reyna knew Piper and how she'd be getting there. Easy: She was a band member at Skinny's and another band member (lie) was picking her up. She nodded and then told them about the latest news in their family: Tia Rosa was pregnant with twins. After that, Reyna zoned out. It wasn't long before they had cleared the table and Reyna found herself sitting on the floor of her room. She hadn't told her family everything—she didn't want to. There was only one person she really wanted to talk to. Reyna unlocked her phone and dialed the number. After two rings, a breathless voice answered.

"Reyna?" Her sister sounded worried.

"Hey," Reyna replied in a small voice. "You busy?"

"No, por qué? _que paso_?"

"I just wanna talk," she told Hylla. On the other line, Hylla closed a door and it became quiet.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you. I have no one to talk to anymore."

Hylla told Reyna to talk their mother. "Are you kidding? She'd beat my ass if I told her everything!" the younger sibling joked. Hylla laughed and then stopped abruptly.

"Oh no, Reyna. You're not pregnant, are you?"

Reyna assured her older sister that no, she was still a virgin but who knew what might happen? Her older sister laughed at that and then tried to lecture Reyna to abstain, and wait until marriage.

"Oh please, as if you haven't lost it."

Hylla paused and Reyna wondered if her older sister would finally open up. Either that or she'd bitch at her, make an excuse that she was busy and hang up. But no. Hylla actually confessed to Reyna how she had lost her virginity. It had been the first week of college and her roommate Kinzie had dragged her to a party. Reyna had thought she knew how to handle her liquor but apparently not. After too many tequila shots, some off Kinzie's belly button (Ew), she'd found herself making out with this guy from the school's lacrosse team. They'd gotten kicked out for too much PDA and had gone back to dorm.

"Was he white?"

"Yeah…why does that matter?"

"No, no reason."

Hylla continued her story. Apparently, she had been so shitfaced that she hadn't felt her cherry pop—if it had even "popped". But Hylla had been in heaven for the rest of the night with the experienced man. He made her feel things she never knew she could feel. He had even taken her out to breakfast the next morning!

"We're still friends," she said and then added, "with the _occasional _benefits."

Reyna mulled over this. Maybe that had been a bit TMI. She finally gasped into the phone and dug under her bed. She had the 5 envelopes from colleges in her hands. "I got mail back from colleges."

Her sister squealed. "That's awesome! And?"

"I haven't opened them," Reyna admitted, fingering the elaborate envelopes. "I wanted to open them with you but….the phone will do."

Reyna put the phone on speaker and opened the first one, reading aloud to Hylla. DePaul, accepted. UIC, accepted. Univeristy of Santa Monica, accepted (that one was close to Hylla). Northwestern University, accepted and University of Madison, accepted. Her sister was quiet on the other line but Reyna could make out the faint sobs she smothered into the pillows. She didn't dare say anything. Finally Hylla cleared her throat and said, "I'm so proud of you Reyna."

That made Reyna feel on top of the world. "Before I forget, Hylla. I also wanted to tell you that I have a boyfriend. I know you'd like him." Hylla regained her senses in time to pester Reyna with questions about Percy. She promised her older sister that she'd send her a picture of him when they hung up.

"What kind of name is Perseus, Jesus Christ?"

"I'm saying. His dad's name is Poseidon." That earned a WTF from Hylla. Reyna also asked Hylla if she could raid her closet for a dress. Her sister was more than happy and urged her to take whatever she wanted.

"I've got condoms under my pencil case."

Reyna made a gagging sound. "No thanks. I'll try to steer clear of tequila tomorrow." That earned cackle from her sister.

They hung up after two hours. Reyna sent a quick picture to her older sister, as promised and then left to inspect Hylla's closet. It was breathtaking to see how their wardrobes contrasted. Where Reyna was basic, Hylla's closet was full of patterns, sequins, violent shades and skimpy designs. She shuffled though her sister's stuff, picking out some cute cardigans, hoodies, and flowy tops. She was about to close the closet door when something shiny caught her eye. It was a sleeveless purple dress with gold sequins on the neckline and on the thick waistline belt. It fanned out in ruffles at the bottom. It was so beautiful and perfect that Reyna tried it on right then and there. She pulled her hair down and let it cascade to the side. Reyna raised her chin, squared her shoulders and marched back to room, feeling like a million bucks. She couldn't wait until tomorrow.

* * *

**Wednesday update!**

**''Te quiero con limon y sal, yo te quiero tal y como estas'' means 'I love you with lemon and salt. I love you how just how you are'. **

**Limon y Sal x Julieta Venegas. It's all cutesy änd fits perfect with Reyna and Hylla's relationship.**

**As usual, did you like it? Did you hate it?**

**Enjoy the rest of your week.**

**Passy**


	6. I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor

**I do not own this wonderful series. All rights go to Rick Riordan.**

**2lazy2check4typos**

**VI **

When Reyna walked out of her room the next day, clad in the purple dress, her parents flipped. They were sitting on the couch watching some kind of season finale of a novella. Her mother saw her first and jabbed her husband in the ribs towards Reyna's direction. He looked up lazily from the TV screen and stared at his daughter up and down. Seeing her all dressed up made him realize that in a couple of months his baby girl would be joining her sister out in the world. He felt sadness creep inside of him as he got up to hug his surprised daughter.

Finally her mother pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of Reyna. "This one is going on Facebook," she muttered in Spanish. Reyna rolled her eyes at her mother and told her to at least take one where she could pose. Her mother obliged and positioned Reyna near their stairs banister. Reyna rested one on the banister and the other one gracefully on her hip. She smiled wide, proudly showing her pearly teeth. Tonight, Reyna had fixed her hair into loose curls and then messily pinned them into a bun to the side. It was elegant yet sloppy, just like what she was aiming. Lose tendrils framed her face, that Reyna had applied makeup too. Her cheeks had been bronzed and highlighted her cheekbones. After watching many YouTube tutorials, Reyna had mastered the winged eyeliner look and had curled her eyelashes to perfection. Her big eyes were even more evident against her face due to the mascara that covered her eyelashes. Tonight Reyna had also picked some gold heels that made her stand to 5'9.

Her mother finished snapping her picture and sat back down on the couch. Reyna's father twirled her and her dress fanned out like a flower.

"Do you need a ride?" her father asked. Reyna shook her head and told him her friend was five minutes away. He nodded and sat back down on the couch to watch his novella. Reyna checked her reflection in a decorative mirror and caught sight of her mother watching her.

"Que?" Reyna asked.

Her mother pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "I'm just wondering what kind of party this is. You're dressed too fancy."

Reyna rolled her eyes and dug out lip gloss from her purse. She shrugged her shoulders as she uncapped the tube. "Piper's family has money so I'm guessing it's gonna be real nice. Maybe they'll serve caviar and filet mignon. Who knows?"

Her mother looked unsettled but she returned to her phone. Probably back on Facebook to show off her least favorite daughter. Reyna going to an engagement party, I miss you Hylla. She had just finished put on her lip gloss when her phone chimed. It was Percy texting 'Here'.

She caught sight of headlights slowing down and then Percy pulling into the street outside of Reyna's house. She hastily kissed her parents goodbye and ran out before Percy could exit his car or before her parents could follow. Percy looked surprised as she knocked on the passenger window and slid into the leather passenger seat. The interior of his car was nice. It had that new car smell too. The dashboard and radio was all modernized, glowing blue. Reyna could make out the faint music coming from the speakers. The first thing she said to Percy was, "Queens of Stone Age? No way! I love them."

His confusion left as a smile brightened his face in the darkness. "Meant to be," he told her. "You look like a queen tonight." Percy leaned in for a kiss.

Reyna panicked. Her parents were probably watching from their window. If they saw her locking lips with a boy, they'd start asking questions and giving lectures. Reyna wasn't in the mood for that anytime soon. She purposely dropped her purse on the car floor and bowed her head, pretending to search for it. Percy moved too, to look for it and picked it up for her. "God, you're so clumsy."

Reyna laughed nervously, agreeing and pointed at the clock under the stereo. It read 6:23. "We should get going if we want to avoid traffic."

_That and I don't want my parents to see you..._

Percy nodded and shifted the car into drive. He asked Reyna to look through his phone for the address and to plug it into Google maps. Reyna was more than happy to do it. She picked up Percy's phone, which had a pass code lock on it. He told her it was the day they'd started dating. Reyna rolled her eyes, disbelieving, but punched it in. Sure enough the phone unlocked and Reyna reminded her heart to beat normally again. She went through his messages, some from Leo, his mom, Rachel, Piper and a huge group chat. Reyna clicked on Rachel's text thread and was happy to see Percy's dry ass replies to her.

"It's Piper's last chat threat," he reminded her. She looked at him and matched the smile he was giving her. Silly Reyna, it was obvious that Rachel wasn't any kind of threat. She found the address and pasted it into Google maps. The phone gave them a quick route and they were on their way. Reyna watched Percy drum his fingers on the steering wheel of his Infiniti, humming along to the song. His eyes searched the road and every so often he'd frown. Reyna followed his gaze and spotted a group of men dressed in black huddled in a parking lot. "Is that a gang?" he asked her.

Reyna made an mmhm sound. "Turn left here and get on the express way," she told him. Percy nodded and did as she directed but his eyes never left the group of gang members. Reyna thought there was some sort of malice in his eyes but took that thought back. He was probably scared that they'd do something to his precious Infiniti.

After driving down the hallway and belting out lyrics to Sublime, Kings of Leon and Katy Perry, they arrived in Oak Park. Percy still had to drive 10 minutes farther in because Oak Park was huge. Oak Park looked like a prospering neighborhood. It had little shops and Percy gasped when they passed a vintage looking record shop. They passed a sign that promoted the Hemingway Musuem.

"Hemingway," Reyna began, "like the author, right?"

Percy smirked in her direction. "Someone's been doing research." Reyna blushed, remembering her mistake in thinking Hemingway was an actor. In the end, it turned out that Piper's house wasn't even in Oak Park. It was in River Forest which was the town next to Oak Park. River Forest was…well huge. Everything was huge. The parks, the trees, the streets, the _houses. _

As soon as they passed the first mansion like house Percy and Reyna shared a look of disbelief because the houses only seemed to get bigger. Reyna couldn't even begin to imagine what Pipers house looked like. When they pulled up to it, Reyna let out a laugh of disbelief. When Percy told her that Piper had money she imagined that her parents having good paying jobs and some extra money left over. Not having movie star salaries.

"Holy shit," Reyna breathed out.

"Holy shit is right." Percy parked in the vast driveway and turned off the car. At least his car sort of fit with the other Mercedes and Ferraris parked nearby.

"What does her mom do?"

"Interior design."

"Oh."

They got out of the car. Percy didn't even bother locking it. He took her hand as they walked up the long and curving driveway. He had on grey dress pants and a purple dress shirt (which he bought at the mall in the morning because he didn't want them to clash). His tie was black with little gold lightning bolts. He had also tried to brush his hair to the side but it simply just fell back into place near his eyes.

Reyna took in every detail of the house. The emerald like color grass. Flowers adorning the edge of the driveway. White stone statues of cherubs along the walkway that lead to the entrance of the house. The house itself was a peach color with grey roofing. There were huge windows on its façade and an elaborate French door at the front. Reyna estimated 3 floors? To the far left there was a door that lead out to a small balcony. On the other ride of the house, the far right, there was another door and balcony. The difference was that the door was wide open and there was an easel propped against the white railing. Percy and Reyna exchanged a look. Piper's room. Percy ding donged once they got to the French doors. A chorus of bells announced their arrival. Reyna gave Percy a wtf look which he returned. A tall man in a black suit and red tie opened the door, shot glass in his hand. He had a military buzz cut and cold eyes that narrowed at the two teens. "May I help you?"

"We're here for the party," Percy told him. "We're Piper and Frank's friends."

Frank. Right. Reyna had forgotten that Frank's dad was the one getting engaged to Piper's mom. That was so weird. Soon they'd be brother and sister, and her best friend would be dating her brother.

The guy looked at Reyna up and down before opening the door to let them pass. They said their thanks and shuffled in as quickly as they could. Reyna almost slipped as soon as her heels touched the marble floors. Thankfully Percy's grip on her hand steadied her. If the outside of the house was impressive, the inside was 100 times more. I guess it did help that Piper's mom was an interior designer. Even if Reyna tried she couldn't describe all the complex architecture of the inside or the décor. Basically everything was tidy, white and expensive. The man in the suit appeared before them again and held out a hand to Percy.

"I'm Aaron, Frank's dad," he told them and shook their hands. He had a firm grip.

Reyna rubbed her hand afterward. "Pleased to meet you Mr…."

"Just call me Aaron," he said brusquely. His eyes followed a server who carried glasses of wine. "Excuse me." Then his disappeared, following the man.

Percy blew out a sigh of relief. "Man, why do I feel like punching Frank's dad in the face?" Reyna giggled in agreement. They entered the living room where guests were milling around, chatting. Some were heading toward the backyard where the party seemed to be happening. They followed the other guests, women in fancy dresses with deep necklines and slits and jewelry adorning their bodies. Men in tuxes, bowties and ties. Percy squeezed Reyna's hand and lead her into the back huge back yard. The walkway, strewn with red rose petals, lead to a huge dance floor where there was a jazz band playing. A huge tent was set above it and all the tables and chairs that were set up. A girl in a server uniform came up to Reyna and directed her to their table, decorated with white table cloth and plush red chairs. In the center was a huge bouquet of red roses and four picture frames of Piper's mom and Aaron in various poses. Reyna wanted to throw up as she sat down. It was all too lovey dovey. Even the cloth napkins had been engraved with red and silver lettering. 'Dotty and Aaron'.

Gag.

She turned to Percy to make a joke about the overdone décor but his eyes were wide and focused on something else. She followed his line of sight and breathed out, "Wow".

Piper was wearing a short red pocket dress. She had on black heels that laced up just below the knee. Her hair was straightened to perfection. She looked amazing, like always but compared to the woman beside her. Her mother, Reyna figured, was wearing a long strapless red gown. Simple right? Except that Piper's mom's body was totally smokin'. Her gown hugged her curves and pushed her breasts up. There was a long slit running up the side of her dress and Reyna could just barely make out her toned legs. She was waving to all her guests as she made her entrance. Piper smiled but looked extra uncomfortable standing beside her mother. She spotted Reyna and Percy and made her way to them. No one really paid attention over to her as she sat down beside her friends and kicked off her heels. "Jesus Christ, why do women wear these?"

Reyna flaunted her own shoes. Piper rolled her eyes and dug her toes into the cool grass. "God, they're disgusting," she muttered watching Aaron and Dotty kiss. Frank stood to the side in a matching outfit looking just like Piper had a couple of seconds ago. Unlike Piper he stayed beside his step mother and father as they gave some BS welcome speech to the guests.

Reyna and Piper made obnoxious comments at everything Dotty said. Percy on the other hand wouldn't stop staring at Piper's mom which unsettled Piper and snapped at him. "She's a monster okay? You don't want that."

Bit by bit their friends started arriving. Hazel first because she lived nearby. Reyna wondered if her house was just as impressive. Jason , Thalia, and Thalia's plus one, Annabeth. Leo and Nico next. Lastly Rachel. They all were seated with each other which was nice. Except Annabeth and Thalia. They had the table beside them that was full with Piper's mom's family. Thalia giggled to her friend that the cute blonde guy at the table was gonna get some tonight. Jason recoiled in his seat.

Rachel purposely sat next to Percy. She was wearing a blue dress and kept shooting Reyna dirty looks every time Percy leaned into Reyna's ear to whisper something. Reyna decided she'd have to take care of Rachel soon and tell her to back off.

Piper and Frank were walking around the tables with their parents and making small talk with family and friends. At 7:30 the jazz band came back on and dinner was served. Percy picked at his plate while Reyna polished everything off her plate.

"Why aren't you eating?" she asked her boyfriend. He thought, and smiled slyly, holding a mushroom up with his fork.

"I don't like _these_ kind of mushrooms."

Reyna nodded and returned back to her own plate.

Dinner had been cleared and dessert was served—some kind of fancy chocolate cake with raspberries—when Piper and Frank appeared with their parents.

"Mom, these are our friends," Piper said. Dotty smiled a red lipstick smile and shook hand with everyone. She remembered most of the names except when she came to Percy and Reyna, Dotty frowned. "I don't think I've meet them before."

"I have," cut in Frank's father. Dotty raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well what are their names?"

Aaron cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably as he realized he hadn't even asked them for their name.

The look that Dotty was giving Aaron was smoldering. Reyna felt bad for the guy so she decided to help him out. "I'm Reyna and this is Percy."

Dotty's gaze shifted to Reyna. Her blue eyes bore into her. Reyna knew that look. She was sizing Reyna up, picking out her flaws. Reyna matched it with a look of her own. Dotty finally smiled again and shook their hands.

"How are y'all enjoying the evening?" Dotty asked the teens. She slid into a spare seat while Aaron wandered off the bar and her kids stood behind her like body guards.

"Good, Mrs. Amoretti," Jason told her. "It's been interesting so far. Reyna was just about to punch Leo in the face for stealing her dessert."

Dotty raised her perfect eyebrows in Leo and Reyna's direction and laughed. "Is that so? Why, a lady should never argue over food. It makes her look like une vache… a cow. Honey, it's all going to go to your thighs." Dotty looked straight at Reyna when she said that and made her blush.

"Ladies should only argue over boys or over what mall she wants to go to."

Reyna let out a laugh. Her cheeks were still red not from embarrassment but from anger. "You're kidding right? That is the dumbest thing I've heard all day." Dotty narrowed her eyes. The warm spring air suddenly chilled.

Percy squeezed her hand under the table and muttered stop. Leo, Jason, Frank and Nico shared the same worried look. Rachel looked horrified, with her mouth open wide. Hazel sat back in her chair looking smug, her lips quirked to the side. Piper laughed aloud.

"I beg your pardon?"

Reyna snatched her hand from Percy's grip and cracked her knuckles. The crack made Dotty flinch. "How dare you call a teenage girl a cow? Thank god myself esteem is up the roof or else I'd be in the bathroom showing my fingers down my throat right now but you don't do that. The food was set on the table for one main reason: to be eaten and enjoyed. And it _was_ eaten and enjoyed. That was the second best cake I've ever had. Not all of us can be as thin as you, Mrs. Amoretti. Not that we even should. All our bodies were created to uniquely fit us. Also, ladies should never argue over boys. Men should argue over a lady. I thought you of all people would've understood that. Now don't you ever try to insult me or any of these girls because I'm puertorican and you. don't. Want. To. Mess. With. Me."

Dotty stared at Reyna in shock. Her cheeks had taken on a color to match her gown. "I….I must go resume my duty as a hostess," she said and bolted from the table. Piper hollered a laugh and took her mother's place at the table.

"Holy shit, that was amazing."

"She's definitely gonna call the cops," Frank muttered, casting nervous glances at Dotty and his father.

Reyna shrugged her shoulders and popped a piece of Percy's cake into her mouth. She didn't really care what Piper's mom did. What she did care about was that she had stood up for herself. It was one thing to act like a conceited bitch but another to insult your daughter's friend, twice, in front of her friends.

Percy leaned in and planted a big kiss on Reyna's cheek. "I love your thighs," he whispered into her ear. Reyna rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder. When he recoiled and pouted, she took his cheeks in her hands and pulled him into a kiss. Their friends had resumed their joyous conversations. The only one who looked upset was Rachel who had her arms crossed and was frowning at her untouched food.

The rest of the night passed quickly. More speeches from Dotty and Aaron. Piper and Frank even had to make one. Piper simply wished them a happy ending, hopefully this time for good. The crowd laughed at her witty statements. Frank's speech was much more sincere and he looked like he was on the verge of crying. At the end, the soon-to-be sibling embraced their parents. Pictures were taken and sometime during the speech, a dj had shown up and set up his equipment. The dance floor was ablaze with Technicolor lights and a disco ball. Reyna thought the dj was going to play some oldies but no, he simply went down the top 40 countdown. The guests began to get up to dance. Hazel got up to find her boyfriend and congratulate him on his speech.

Reyna caught sight of Thalia dancing scandalously with the cute blonde boy she had mentioned earlier. Maybe he was gonna get some tonight. Jason was being dragged by Annabeth into the far corner of the dance floor where she broke out in some dorky dad-like moves.

Her boyfriend grabbed hold of her chin, turning Reyna's gaze to him. "Wanna dance?" he asked her.

"Can you?"

Percy shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. "I'm probably going to step on your toes but for you I'd do anything. Even make a fool out of myself like Jason."

Reyna broke out into a smile and stood up, dragging her boyfriend along. She grabbed hold of his clammy hand and put it on her waist. She was relieved to find the Percy knew what to do with the other one. Kesha was playing and it wasn't really a song to slow dance to but Reyna made it work. In her heels she didn't really have to crane her neck up so high to look at Percy. Her brown eyes almost aligned with his green ones. She was surprised that Percy only managed to step on her toes once.

They danced about two songs together when Piper materialized beside them. She was tiny without her heels and her hair was a mess. "Can I borrow your boyfriend?"

"What?"

Before Reyna could agree, Piper took hold of Percy's hand and dragged him into the house. It all happened so suddenly that Reyna was left standing stupidly on the dance floor. She was making her way over to her table when a waiter passed by and offered her a glass of champagne. Reyna took it and polished it off. Instantly she felt warmth return to her cheeks.

She was sitting alone at her table when the dj started to play a quick meringue song that Reyna knew all too well. She wished Percy were back so they could dance. Or try to dance.

"Reyna," Leo called. He was wearing a baby blue dress shirt, bowtie and a vest. His curly hair was a mess, as always. He stood before her, holding a hand out. "Want to dance?"

Reyna was sure she made a disgusted face. Dance? With Leo? No way. She hated Leo. He was insufferable and annoying and pervy. Plus, she was waiting for Percy. She just couldn't wait to kiss him again. Something made Reyna reconsider. She stared at Leo's hand like it was gold and took it. It was tiny and smooth in her hand. "I'd love to," she told him, pulling her body up. Leo grinned at her, his face taking on an elfish look. He tugged her back to the dance floor. Reyna notice people were struggling to keep up with the meringue beat but she and Leo moved swiftly. Their legs and arms were a flurry of movements. Reyna was surprised to find that Leo even knew how to twirl her like her dad. He could dance. The Latin rhythm burned into their blood. By the time the song was over, both Leo and Reyna were sweating up a storm. The dj played another Latin song for them, this time it was bachata. Leo groaned. "Me encanta esta cancion." I love this song.

He pulled Reyna's body close to hers, one hand on her lower back. They danced to the one, two, three beat and Leo sang in Spanish. Reyna giggled at the passionate faces he made as he belted out the lyrics. Annabeth and Jason were beside them, imitating their moves. When the song was over, Reyna still found herself in Leo's arms, slow dancing to John Legend. In heels, she was slightly taller than him so it was kind of weird. Still, maybe it was the champagne talking or maybe it was Reyna slowly coming to terms with Leo, but she was glad to be dancing with Leo.

After a while, some girl asked Reyna if she could dance with Leo. Leo let go of Reyna so fast and followed after the cute girl. Reyna found herself sitting near the Amoretti's fountain, her third glass of champagne in her hand.

"You know I could go to jail for serving minors," Dotty said, sliding next to Reyna. Her body glittered in the darkness off the night.

To prove a point Reyna chugged the rest of the glass down to which Dotty laughed. "I'm sorry about what I said. It was rude of me."

"You think?"

"You were rude too."

Reyna shrugged. She turned to look at Piper's mom. How old was she? She couldn't be older than 30 right? She looked more like Piper's sister rather than her mother. Jeez. Reyna wondered if Piper would get the same kind of genes and look 25 when she turned 40.

Dotty broke the silence. "I like you, Reyna. You're beautiful, confident and intelligent. Everything that a woman should be….I'm glad you're friends with Piper. The girls will learn a lot from you."

Before Reyna could ask what on earth they'd learn, Dotty patted her leg and walked away.

Percy found Reyna in the back seat of his car, half asleep. She had drunk too many champagne glasses and the world wouldn't stop spinning. She faintly heard Percy telling someone—Piper?—that Reyna was in his car. She breathed out a sigh of relief and walked back to her house. Reyna wished they'd let her sleep.

She groaned and turned onto her side. Percy laughed quietly and crawled into the back with her. He pulled her head onto his lap and ran his fingers in her ruined hair. Bobby pins felt onto the floor of his car.

"Looks like someone had too much fun while I was gone."

Reyna mumbled something like a yes. Percy chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"I missed you terribly," Reyna told him. She turned her face towards the roof of the car. Her eyes cracked open but she couldn't see Percy in the dark, only his faint outline.

"I left you in good hands."

Reyna scoffed but inwardly, she agreed. Leo had been an amazing dance partner. She was starting to feel a kinship forming.

Percy leaned his head to find her lips. They found her nose instead. They giggled together and he tried again. They found her neck this time. This time neither of them giggled. Time hug suspended in the air as Percy's lips lingered on her neck. Slowly, he kissed her there leaving lingering moisture. Reyna gasped a little too loud, goose bumps rising on her arms.

"Percy," she breathed out. "Please do that again."

Percy laughed and did as she pleased. Reyna practically came undone with those kissed on her neck, lips and ear lobe. They made out some more until Percy decided it was late and had to take her home. She managed to hop into the front from the back in heels without busting her shit. Percy threatened her that if she better not get his seats dirty. Reyna stuck her tongue out childishly at him and settled into her seat. They didn't belt out the lyrics as they drove home. Instead Percy rolled down all the windows as they zipped down the expressway. All the wind blew Reyna's hair in crazy directions. Up, down, to the left, in her mouth. Reyna was laughing the whole time, trying to roll the windows up but Percy had locked them. Only he could put them up.

Reyna gave up half way home. She grabbed hold of Percy's hand and relaxed in quiet the rest of the ride home.

* * *

**Apologies that I did not post on Saturday. I was on a retreat and there was no wifi and then I had to cram homework all last night. Ugh.**

**Also, Aaron is Ares, and Dotty is Dite/Aphrodite. **

**Maybe I'll even post another short chapter tomorrow or thursday to get back on track. Maybe...that is if I can focus with this cute guy from French sitting next to me.**

**ANYWAY Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review and let me know what you think. **

**Passy**


	7. Momma Said I'd Find My Way Back

**I don't own PJO or HoO**

Piper shoved Percy into a dark room. Or was it a closet? He spun around trying to find her. The sudden light blinded him and after his eyes adjusted he saw Piper leaning against the door. Her hand slowly reached behind her to lock it.

Percy tried to focus on anything except the disheveled girl in front of him. So this was where Piper slept. The walls were a lime green color. The ceiling of her room was painted navy blue with constellations of star in whites and Yellows. Pipers walls were decorated with Cherokee artifacts and movie posters. Percy approached one where a man was posing, his oiled washboard abs on display.

"That's my dad," Piper said. Percy frowned. Tristan McLean?

"Piper McLean?"

The girl nodded, finally stepping away from the door. She stopped beside Percy and looked at the poster with sadness. "That's me."

"I thought your last name was Amoretti?"

Piper made a choking sound. "No way."

They stood there near the posted in awkward silence. Percy why Piper had needed him so urgently and why they were standing in her room. Alone. With the door locked.

His hands became clammy and he nervously wiped then on his dress pants. "So..."he began.

Piper tore her eyes away from the poster and stared at him. "I need your help."

She explained no further and disappeared behind the balcony door. Percy followed her, glancing at her bed. All sorts of dirty thoughts started to appear in his brain except they weren't about Piper. He pictured Reyna laying on that queen size mattress, laughing and slowly hiking up her purple dress higher and higher...

Percy shoo'd those thoughts away and made his way to Piper. She was leaning against the railing of the balcony. There were different pots littered around the floor and Percy caught all kinds of scents wafting in the air. Jasmine, mint, lavender etc. Percy stumbled his way over the pots and made sure not to knock over the easel that separated him and Piper.

His Cherokee friend was gazing up at the stars muttering to herself. He waited until she spoke again.  
"You and I haven't know each other for a long time so this probably strange of you. Trust me, I'm weirded out too."

Percy nodded, and Piper continued. "The thing is that I couldn't go to Leo or Frank and I needed a guy's opinion."

He frowned. "What about Jason?"

"That's the thing. This is about Jason."

More frowning. Percy didn't get it. What could Piper possibly wanna talk about Jason with Percy? Maybe he'd harnessed and Piper wanted Percy to confront him? Maybe Piper was pregnant? Oh my god, no. Not that. Piper liked Jason. Why hasn't Percy thought of that first? Instead he picture sweet Piper being deflowered my Jason. Percy mentally shook his head at himself. "I see."

Piper managed a small smile. "His birthday is coming up and I painted him something for his dorm wall. I need your opinion on it."

"Go for it."

Piper unveiled the canvas. Percy let out a low whistle. It was a beautiful painting if the Chicago skyline, including Navy Pier. How Piper managed to include the huge skyline in one painting, Percy didn't know. But the girl was seriously talented.

In the picture the sun was just setting, spilling reds, oranges, yellows, blues and navy blues behind the sky line. Piper had painted Lake Michigan a dazzling sapphire color, the twinkling lights of the buildings reflecting in the water.

"Piper..." he began, outlining the circular shape of the Ferris wheel. "It's-"

"Awful, right?" she cut in desperately. She had her thumb in between her teeth. Her brown hair spilled into her face and she looked almost like a child. Insecure, worried, wanting someone's approval.

Percy scoffed at her. "This is amazing, Pipes. If I were rich I'd pay some serious bucks for something like this...except with the Manhattan Skyline."

Piper's finger fell from her mouth and she smiled, gazing at her master piece. Percy could see the approval dancing in her eyes. He figured that maybe there was something more to Piper McLean than her random intervals of airheadedness. Piper McLean was a chameleon. Versatile.

She was a singer. A damn good one. She was beautiful. She was kind. She could paint. She loved. She was a daughter an actor from Hollywood. She was rich. She was sophisticated. She was caring. Piper had all these wonderful identities blended into one, and it made her so perfect. But she couldn't see it. Behind her exterior, Piper fought a battle deep inside of her.

Percy wondered the stress she must have been put on having such perfect parents. Dotty, who was so damn fine and practically hogged the limelight. She was also a bitch. She had singled Reyna out so Percy could only imagine how she treated her daughter. Then there was Tristan McLean, Hollywood's most wanted celebrity. In the 5 weeks Percy had known Piper not once had she mentioned her dad. Her dad probably didn't even have the time for her, being an actor and all.

As Percy stared at her he felt his heart soften up for Piper. He understood the tight community between their friends and now he was linked to Piper. They had been standing in silence for who knew how long when Percy cleared his throat and finally spoke to her. "He'd be stupid not to like you."

Piper's eyes closed. Her hands turned to fists and she help them close to her chest.

"You're pretty freaking talented," he continued. "And smart. And beautiful. Any guy who-"

Piper let out a sob. Her eyes were still closed but Percy could see the slow stream of tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Stop," she rasped, wiping her cheeks. "Percy, stop."

Percy shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't ever been good with girls. Why was Piper all of a sudden so emotional? He thought. What did he usually do when girls cried? Well when his first ex-girlfriend cried because she had flunked a test Percy had given her a 'fuck it all' attitude which only she had made her cry more. They had broken up after that because she said Percy would just end up as a dead beat. His other ex-girlfriend had cried a lot when he had dumped her. She had simply been too needy for his liking. The last girl he'd dated...actually, they hadn't _ever_ dated. Percy had established that their relationship was sexually interdependent. Or in other words, she was just there for Percy to fool around with. Oh yeah, and when she wanted to fool around he was there for her too. The thing was that she had caught feelings and Percy had to play the bad guy and let her down.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Percy was an ass and deserved a kick in the balls but Reyna was changing him, making him better. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep her by his side, even if it meant going to school everyday, being a good person and giving up drugs.

Drugs? Yeah, Percy did them. Not all the time but Percy liked to experiment, feel new things every now and then. Let all the stress go and mellow down. But for Reyna, Percy would do anything. That girl was special. Something in his gut told him.

Piper was furiously wiping her eyes and nose. She laughed, an unpleasant boogery sound that made Percy cringe. He might've been an ass but he was also a germaphobe. He took off his tie and handed it to her.

After Piper finished blowing her nose, she offered the tie to Percy. He scrunched his nose and waved his hand 'no, it's yours now' motion. Together they covered the painting back. Piper locked the door to the balcony and turned off the lights of her room as they left.

"So do I get an exclusive tour of your mansion?"

The brunette girl giggled. Her hair was a mess and mascara tainted her cheeks. She shrugged and wagged a finger at Percy. "Why the hell not?"

They passed different rooms-mainly guest rooms, a gym, a study, her mom's office, an indoor pool, a game room, two closets, a small library, Frank's room (empty), and the master bedroom. They also passed a room with a steel door and when Percy joked if that's where they kept their money, Piper grimaced. Her eyes widened and she looked on the verge of puking.

"So you know who Christian Grey is?" she asked him. Percy replied no and Piper breathed out, "Then consider yourself lucky."

They moved on. Finally they made it to the top of the house where Piper opened doors to yet another balcony. This one faced the back of house and gave them the perfect view of the party. His eyes searched until they spotted Reyna with Leo. They were on the dancefloor and he was yelling something at her as she hunched over, doubling in laughter. That surprised Percy because he knew Reyna wasn't fond of Leo. Like at all. He focused on what they were saying but it came back as gibberish. Spanish. They were speaking Spanish.

He felt a twinge of jealousy that Leo could communicate with her in another language. Were they dancing? Percy frowned. Leo had his hands a little too close to his girlfriend's behind and... god, those moves were _not_ PG enough for the dance floor.

"Man, she's so drunk," Piper said. Percy looked at her, confused and followed her gaze. She was talking about Reyna.

Not that she mentioned it, Reyna did look flustered and her hair was a mess. She kept giggling into Leo's shoulder. Leo looked happy to have finally gotten on Reyna's good side but he also seemed overwhelmed-like he didn't really know what to do with the giggling girl in his arms. He kept glancing around, searching for her boyfriend.

"I should go," he told Piper. He didn't really wanna leave Leo with Reyna any longer. Plus, he felt kind of bad that he'd been gone for so long and she'd made some bad choices.

His friend nodded and followed him down the stairs, back to the party. He and Piper searched for Reyna and Leo but they were nowhere to be seen. Finally he spotted Leo eating some left over cake at an empty table.

"Where's Reyna?"

He looked at Percy, eyebrows knitting together. "She said she saw you and went...somewhere."

"And you let her run off like that? Drunk?" Piper cut in somewhere behind Percy. She finally came into view.

Leo stopped eating for a second, frosting on his nose. "SHE WAS DRUNK?"

Piper let out a frustrated groan and smacked Leo in the head. She ordered him to follow her as they searched for Percy's girlfriend. After asking around, and searching high and low, Percy found Reyna resting in the back seat of his car. He told Piper that he was going to drive her home before her curfew.

Piper agreed and wrapped Percy into a warm hug before she jogged back to her front porch. She turned back to flash a grin at Percy before she disappeared into her house. As Percy crawled into the backseat with napping Reyna he silently thanked his mom for dragging him away from all those bad influences back home and introducing him to a new start.

* * *

**Do you ever read your old writing and want to travel back in time and slap the shit out of the past you?**

**Yeah, me too.**

**6.5 because some of you wondered why Piper needed Percy. Yo, I will nevah eva ship Percy/Piper. What's that? Peper? Swerveeeee on that ship.**

**Passy.**


	8. Safe and sound

**VII**

_**Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound. **_

Reyna's weekend had been crazy. After she had stumbled home that Friday after her curfew, her parents had her on lockdown. On Saturday she had been forced to help her mother cook and then when she thought she had freedom, her parents dragged her to a family friend's party. The next day her mother had oh so kindly volunteered her to teach CCD classes. So now Reyna was stuck at church on Sundays from 10 am until 3:30pm. Needless to say, she was tired. All because she had been home 13 minutes after her curfew…..She couldn't imagine what her parents would've done if they had actually smelled the alcohol on her breath.

Reyna thought that it being Monday meant that her punishment was over but as soon as school was over and she was heading towards the train to see Percy, her mother's car pulled up beside her and told her no Skinny's for a week.

Reyna gave her an 'r u srs' look but didn't bother to fight her mother.

So now she sat on the living room couch watching Anchorman, plate of Doritos and hot sauce (Valentina) next to her. She had changed into her pajama, shorts and a sweatshirt, and her hair was done in its usual braid. Piper had joked once that Reyna would've made the perfect Katniss. Then she asked Reyna warily if she knew who Katniss was to which Reyna had said yes. Piper seemed relieved.

"Good, I just wondered because you didn't know Hemingway was an author."

Reyna had just rolled her eyes.

Now she found herself missing Piper. And Hazel with the big puppy eyes. And Percy.

She missed Percy like crazy. When she had texted him today that she couldn't go to Skinny's he had sent her waves of crying emojis and then hadn't replied. He probably took the liberty to make this a boy's night out. Did boys even have Boy's Night Out?

She paused the movie for a minute to get a cup of water. That hot sauce was setting her mouth on fire.

As Reyna danced her way around her mother, who was cooking, the doorbell rang. Reyna's mother glared at her, phone poised in her hand. "Ve." _Go._

With a huff, Reyna crossed the dining room and the living room to the door. She was left standing there, mouth wide open when she saw Percy leaning against the porch with a bouquet of flowers and a Jewel (AN: like a Target but I think they're only in IL because I went to LA, AR, and TN once and no one knew what a Jewel was) bag. He grinned hugely at his girlfriend when he saw her and wrapped her into a giant bear hug.

"Percy," Reyna managed out against his chest. "What are you doing here?"

He pulled her away and frowned. "Isn't it obvious? I came to see you."

Reyna glanced behind her and closed the door to her house before her mother came out. "Percy," she said, sighing. She rubbed her temples in frustration. "You shouldn't have come."

Percy looked like he'd been slapped in the face. His green eyes dulled and his lips set into a pout. "Well wow. This is what I get when I try to be a good boyfriend and help my damsel in distress."

"First of all, I am no damsel in distress. Second, I appreciate the sweet sweet gesture but my parents aren't in the mood to have company over."

"Not even your boyfriend?"

Reyna looked away from him. She couldn't stand to meet his eyes right now.

"They do know you have a boyfriend, right?"

Reyna didn't reply. Her eyes focused on a blob of guys approaching, her friend Miguel among them. He nudged one of the guys beside him and they looked in Reyna's direction. Miguel signaled to them and they began to cross the street towards them.

"Percy," Reyna said urgently once more, turning to him. "This neighborhood is dangerous. I'd appreciate if you could call beforehand. Let's go inside. Now."

Percy's eyebrows knit together, trying to dissect the apology in her words. He let out a sigh, and crossed his flannel clad arms. "Fine."

He gathered his bags and began to follow Reyna inside when they heard a whistle. "Percy, don't turn," she whispered, tugging him inside. Naturally, Percy didn't listen to her and he turned. Miguel and his friends were standing outside of house's gate. Some of the guys were eyeing Percy's Infiniti and nodding in approval. The others were eyeing Percy up and down and frowning. The white boy in the bright red flannel and loafers didn't belong here. Was he lost?

"Going in without saying goodbye?" Miguel called out to her, a smile playing his lips.

Reyna let out a nervous laugh and waved to them.

"Dejala," one guy told Miguel. Reyna recognized him as one of the gang leaders down the block."Que no ves que esta ocupada con la carne blanca."

Leave her. Don't you see she's busy with her white meat?

Miguel forced a smile and finally took in Percy. Reyna could read the disapproval on his face. She glanced at her boyfriend and saw his jaw was set, and he was giving the guys a dirty look.

"Buenas noches," Reyna called out bitterly to the group before her house and dragged Percy behind her. She shut the door with such haste that she knocked Percy over. He stumbled on the hardwood floor and his bag plummeted to the floor with a large crash.

"The pies!" he cried out, kneeling down to check on the goodies. Reyna watched in horror, her back against the door.

"Will my care be OK out there?"

"Of course," she breathed out. _Maybe. _

Percy nodded and picked up his bag. He peered into the bag and nodded in approval. Reyna figured his pie was fine. She was about to ask him what kind of flavor it was when her mother walked in the living room, asking Reyna who had been at the door. She paused halfway, her cheeks turning bright red as she spotted Percy. Her hands automatically went to groom her fluffy hair.

Reyna knew she should've stepped in to introduce her boyfriend to her mother but she stayed frozen by the door. When Percy figured out that she wasn't going to introduce them, he stepped forward with his hand outstretched. "Senora," he began. "My name is Percy. Mucho gusto."

Reyna's mother looked at his hand like she didn't know what to do with it. She finally took it, shaking it. "Cristina," she told him.

Percy smiled at her, that smile that made Reyna catch her breath every time, and her mother returned it apparently not immune to it either. To make matters even better, Percy handed the bouquet to Reyna's mother. "I got these for you."

Reyna's mother clasped her hands with a sigh and took them, muttering a brief thank you to Percy. He looked pleased with himself. Reyna was suddenly aware of the two pairs of eyes regarding her.

Right.

She finally got into motion, stepping closer to them. She repeated her boyfriend's name to her mother and added, boyfriend after it. She mouthed the equivalent to the word, _novio_, to her. Reyna's mother arched her eyebrows and asked for how long.

Percy happily took the liberty to reply that they had been dating for a month and Reyna's mother's eyebrows arched higher—if possible. She told her daughter's boyfriend, "Congrats. Make yourself at home" and excused herself to find a vase. As she left to the kitchen Reyna caught her giving her a smirk as if to say, _Wait until your father gets home. _

Reyna plopped onto the couch with her boyfriend and offered him some chips. He made a face when he saw they had hot sauce. "No thank you. I don't want to suffer from explosive diarrhea tonight."

Reyna exclaimed, "Percy!" and playfully punched his arm. They resumed Anchorman and it seemed like Percy knew every single line. Reyna wanted to punch him again but she just laughed. Her eyes kept wandering to the window, wondering if Miguel and the others were still outside. Where was Katie? Why was he even hanging out with those guys? Was Miguel in a gang?

No. He was sworn to Reyna that he'd never get caught up in that. Miguel was a horndog but he was smart. He had a potential future ahead of him. Reyna thought about him opening up his own car shop one day like he had always dreamed of. If he joined a gang, there was no way of ever getting out. She closed her eyes, silently praying that wasn't the case.

She felt a pair of lips flutter against her neck. Reyna sucked in a breath, her eyes flying open. "No," she told him. "Not here."

Percy replied with a pout and turned back to the TV screen. He was quiet after that, laughing occasionally. Finally he turned to her, his eyes still lingering on the house.

"Your house smells like Leo's."

Reyna grimaced. "Is that a compliment?"

"It's an observation," he murmured coldly. "Do all Latin people's houses smell like this?"

She crossed her arms, her anger slowly rising. "What do you—"

Her mother called for her to set the table. Reyna huffed and got up from the couch. Percy didn't even budge as she stumbled over his legs.

When the table was set, Reyna asked her mother if she needed anymore help. At that same moment she heard a crash in the living room and her father's booming voice. Her mother and Reyna stared at each other, horrified, thinking of all the possible things that crash meant.

Her father murdering Percy was the winner in Reyna's mind. The two Ramirez-Arellano women rushed over into the living room where they found Reyna's father laughing as he helped Percy up. Percy's face had a rosy tinge to it, paired with a sheepish smile.

"This guy," his father said humorously, shaking his head at Percy. He kissed his wife and his daughter and disappeared upstairs.

Reyna gave Percy a questioning look. He looked just as confused and shrugged.

They were seated at the table when Reyna's father returned in clean clothes. He nodded curtly at Percy and sat down at the head of the table, opposite to Reyna's mom. Reyna sat on one side, facing Percy who was looking really uncomfortable. He met her gaze and managed a smile.

Reyna's mother took this cue to begin serving. Thankfully tonight she had cooked something simple—rice, beans, and taquitos. Percy happily dove into the food, praising her mother that this was better than a taqueria.

Reyna rolled her eyes at that but her mother was eating it up. Mid-way through dinner, Reyna's father asked how long they'd been dating.

"A month," her mother cut in, flashing her husband a secretive stare.

He smiled sly back at her and that was that. No other embarrassing questions except for where was Percy from. Her parents were surprised that he was from New York and that his parents were divorced. They exchanged an incredulous look but kept quiet. After eating the delicious blueberry pie, Percy offered to help wash dishes to which Reyna's mother shoo'd him away. Her father suggested they go up to Reyna's room. Reyna tried whisking him away but Percy stayed frozen in the dining room. "No, this is a test," he told her.

Reyna's dad laughed and reminded them to keep the door open.

Up in her room, Reyna sprawled on her carpeted floor, Percy after her. They laid there in silence, listening to the laughing and dish clattering downstairs.

"Your parents are cool," he finally told her, leaning on his side to watch her. Reyna scrunched her nose.

"Yeah. They are. They're probably gonna give me the sex talk when you leave. For like the millionth time."

Percy let out a low laugh. He caressed Reyna's cheek. "Do you ever think about me that way?"

Reyna's breath caught in her throat. She didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't even know if that's what he was talking about. _Do you think about me that way?_ Like sexually or…or?

Reyna covered her burning face with her hands. "Percy, that is so inappropriate right now."

Percy laughed, swatting her hands away. He enjoyed seeing the ever so confident Reyna being uncomfortable and in the spotlight. "I'm just asking. I mean, your bed is right _there_ and I can't help but wonder."

"My parents are downstairs."

"So you have thought about it."

"Percy," she groaned, covering her face again. Laughing, he planted a kiss on her cheek before lying on his back once more. Reyna's room was so boring compared to his other friends. The only sort of décor it had was a desk, laptop, lamp and a laundry hamper in the corner. Her walls, furniture, and carpet were white. The only splash of color was the purple duvet lazily arranged on her bed.

"Please call me next time you visit," Reyna muttered between her arms. She sneaked a look at her boyfriend who was peacefully dozing off. She called his name again to which her nodded, and agreed that yes, he'd call.

"I loved your visit but I couldn't stand it if anything happened. I want you to be safe."

"Those gangsters scare you," he stated.

Reyna nodded. It had been apparent today that not only did they terrify her, but also what they were capable of. Who knew what would happen now that they knew Reyna was hanging out with a white boy. Would people talk at school?

It was her turn to lie on her side and nestle into Percy. They stayed like that until Percy spoke. "I want you to take self defense class."

"I'll look into it."

"Let me rephrase that. You're going to take self dense classes at Jason's dojo because it's already been paid for."

Reyna nuzzled Percy with her nose. "Okay."

They managed to get up from the floor and Percy sat on Reyna's desk and helped her with her AP Chemistry. It turned out that he was a genius at science. "No, no, no, you're balancing them wrong," he exclaimed, furiously erasing her work and showing her how to do it. She was about to smack him in the face with her binder when she heard her dad laughing in the door.

"Finally, someone who knows more than Reyna."

Percy grinned at Reyna's father and hopped off the desk. The two males chatted quietly as Reyna finished her work. She heard Percy say that he was going to head out.

"I'll walk you," she said at the same time as her father. They stared at each other awkwardly but her dad didn't back down. Soon both them were outside, inspecting Percy's car. It seemed fine, nothing broken or stolen. Her dad shook hands with her boyfriend again and waited for Reyna on the porch. She tugged Percy's shirt, pulling him to her lips. "Thanks for the pie," she whispered against his lips.

Percy made a sound like 'mmhm'. They pulled apart and Percy ducked into his car. He rolled down the window and called out to Reyna, who was now backing away. "Reyna, I was serious about the classes. I'll text you the address and Jason's number to set us a time with it."

"I was serious about those classes too."

That earned her a big dopey grin from him.

"Call me when you get home," she told him as he pulled out into the street. He made her kissy lips and sped away. Reyna stood on the street until his car disappeared down and around the block. Her father was smirking when she passed him by the threshold.

"What?" she snapped.

"Nothing," he said defensively, holding his hands up and they both went inside. Reyna was ready when she saw her mother sitting by the couch, glaring, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"You've got some explaining to do."

With a groan, Reyna slid into the leather seat and finally, came clean.

* * *

Sorry, if there are mistakes. I typed most of it on my phone during breaks between classes.

Have you guys been watching the Blood of Olympus clue videos? Holy crap, I am so pumped and terrified and anxious for this book. I'm taking a personal day off at school when it comes out. How are you guys feeling? Excited? Scared? AHHHH. We're like 20 days away from it.

FREAKING OUT.

Comment, review, favorite, whatever. I'll still keep writing, regardless.

Passy


	9. Come a little closer

**All rights go to Rick Riordan**

**VIII**

**Come a little closer then you'll see, come on, come on. **

* * *

Cold air blasted Reyna in the face as she entered the building. She had to admit, she was impressed. When Percy had mentioned a dojo she had initially thought of a dingy little establishment not a 5-star gym that trained the Chicago elite. She felt too aware of herself as she crossed the room to the reception desk. The woman at the front desk was wearing a pink suit that didn't quite go for working at a gym. She had her black highlighted hair in a high bun and was eyeing Reyna thoroughly. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm here to see Jason uhhhh Grace. Jason Grace."

The woman arched an eyebrow and flipped through a stack of papers. "3rd floor. Elevator is on the left."

Reyna muttered a thank you and pressed the buttons. She found a key that indicated what was going on each floor.

1st: Zumba and assorted cardio work outs, and the locker rooms.  
2: Weights, sauna, and workout machines.  
3. Assorted martial arts  
4. Boxing and MMA

Reyna boarded the elevator and made her way to the 3rd floor. The doors opened and revealed a vast room. The floor was one giant mat and partners were yelling and attacking each other. Reyna winced as a brunette girl kicked a guy in his side, knocking him over. The girl whooped and helped the boy up.

"Are you lost?"

Reyna whirled around and found herself staring at a group of 4 girls. They wore skimpy little shorts and matching zebra print sport bras. The leader, Reyna guess, wore a thick headband in her curly brown hair.  
"I'm looking for Jason?"

"Jason?" She asked, her eyes widening. The girls behind her giggled and then shushed. "He's busy."

"No he's not," a voice said. They all turned as Jason was stepping out of the elevator. His blonde hair was dripping wet and he wore a black tank top, and sweat pants. The girls sighed dreamily as he stepped near them but he paid no attention to them which infuriated their leader. His baby blue eyes were fixed on Reyna, scanning her up and down. The heat of his gaze made her shift uncomfortably. "Heyy," she said weakly. Reyna could feel a blush creeping across her cheeks. She couldn't resist eyeing him too. He was taller than Percy. Maybe 6'2? And while Percy was on the fit side, Jason Grace had a future body builder physique going on: his shoulders were wider, arms and chest much more muscular and Reyna could faintly make out the tightness of his abdomen beneath his shirt. She was positive that her face was beet red.

The leader girl stepped between Jason and Reyna, her hand resting on his defined chest. "I thought you were busy today," she whined, mouth setting into a pout.

Jason kindly swiped her hand a way and managed a weak smile. "I am. I'm busy with Reyna today."

The girl turned to glare at Reyna so fast that Reyna was sure she would give herself whiplash. "That's Reyna?" She regarded Reyna like she was dirty laundry.

Jason was smirking, looking at Reyna too. Something about his gaze unsettled Reyna. "That's Reyna. Now…I think Pat's yoga class is starting soon. Why don't you run along with the girls while Reyna and I work out with the other adults?"

His tone was so patronizing that Reyna felt sorry for the headband girl and her friends. She couldn't blame them for wanting to hog Jason. In defeat, the girl huffed and stormed away, the ground practically steaming behind her.

"Bye Jason!" one of the girls giggled as she left.

Jason watched them go. Finally once they were gone, he clapped his hands and told Reyna to follow.

"Are they the Jason club fangirls?" Reyna asked, trailing behind him. She wished she could see his expression. Amused? Hungry?

"Something like that."

"They're …interesting."

Jason stopped all of a sudden and Reyna almost bumped into him. "They're mean," he replied. Why did he have to stare so much?

Reyna shrugged her eyes on everything other than Jason's really hot body. "If you say so."

"Aw, don't let them get you down. They're intimidated by you," he said. Reyna was going to ask what he meant but he continued, "You're a gorgeous girl invading their territory. They feel threatened but no worries, I won't let them do anything to you."

Reyna was blushing again. She resisted covering her face with her hands. The best she could do was remain emotionless. "Um, okay. Thanks?"

Jason frowned, obviously displeased with her reply but he waved to fingers at her to follow. He showed her the emergency exits were (protocol), the first aid kit, emergency numbers and how to handle the equipment. After that, he made her sign a waiver.

"Who's Master Zu?" Reyna asked, pointing to the sheet with Master Zu, printed at the bottom. It was Jason's turn to blush as he replied, "My father."

Next Jason took her to the far corner of the room—arena more like it—where they could go over basic maneuvers to disable someone. It was hard imagining the situations Jason was describing. Why would anyone wanna ever choke Reyna? Every time Jason touched her, her arms or hands, it took all of Reyna's power to not sigh dreamily. Finally, he asked Reyna to try to attack him from behind.

"As if you wanted to mug me."

He pretended to walk away and she charged. He was quick. In one swift move, he had managed to grab her by the arms and slam her (a bit too hard) onto the mat. Black spots danced in her vision and she faintly made out Jason's outstretched hand, a smirk on his lips. "See?"

He then asked Reyna to try to choke him as hard as she could but she could barely reach his neck. Still, she tried, only to be slammed onto the mat.

Jason pulled her up. He asked her to try to punch, kick him, whatever. Reyna did, groaning aloud when Jason knocked her onto her side. He dragged her up, laughing. She hated that he was enjoying this. Reyna lashed out at punched him in the gut. Jason doubled over, groaning. She took advantage of his weakened state and kicked him over. He crumpled to the ground, but a huge smile was on his face.

"Now we're getting somewhere," he mustered out.

The rest of the hour was full of Jason teaching Reyna the same basic moves over and over until she mastered them. He complained that her movements were too unsure and shy. "Come here," he teased, waging his index finger at her. "Don't be afraid to hurt me." He sure as hell wasn't afraid to hurt her. The rest of the hour Reyna tried to not get knocked onto the mat. Her body was sweaty when he called it quits, and her braid was undone. She tried to fix it as they walked back. Jason looked perfectly fine, not a drop of sweat on him.

She caught the initial girl, who was whooping ass when she walked in, looking at her. She was smirking, her wispy brown hair tied back with a bandana. She had a skull tattoo on her forearm. They made eye contact and Reyna nodded at her. The girl returned the gesture before clasping her hand with the boy's whose butt she kicked.

"That's Clarisse. You don't ever want to fight her."

"Noted."

Jason offered her a towel and a water bottle that she chugged down in less than a minute. She could feel Jason staring. Why is he staring?

"Tomorrow?" he inquired.

Reyna nodded, wiping water off her chin. She patted her sweat away with the towel Jason had lent her. She gathered her backpack and dug around for her cell phone.

"Do you need a ride?"

"I'm good," she replied, showing him her Ventra card. Jason nodded, and finally tore his eyes away. He focused on something in the distance. Reyna turned and saw the girl in the headband coming back.

"I'll see you then," Reyna told him, shouldering her backpack.

"You did well today for it being your first time."

She thanked him and started to make her way back the way she'd come from. She raised her chin, eyes hard at the girl as they passed each other. The girl lowered her gaze and moved on. That's right, Reyna thought. Don't mess with me.

The next morning Reyna though she was going to die. Her body was so sore that putting on clothes brought out some tears from her. She was groaning and moaning so much that her mom poked her head into her room. "Estas bien?"

"Si, si, si—" Reyna tried pulling her pants up, her legs burning. "No, no."

Reyna's mother looked worried. She told Reyna to put some VaporRub which puzzled Reyna but apparently VaporRub was the solution to everything to her mom. Sick? VaporRub. Sore? VaporRub. Broken heart? No worries, VaporRub.

She stood as she ate her breakfast because it hurt too much to sit. Reyna set a quick 'IHY' text to her boyfriend to which he replied with a bunch of green hearts. She rolled her eyes and set off for school which turned out to be HELL. She wanted to cry every time she had to switch to her next class and stand up. Finally after 7th period, she left early to meet up with Percy.

They ate together at a Chick-fil-a near the gym. Percy remarked how he really liked that dress Reyna was wearing. She had nice legs. She swatted his hand off her thigh, readjusting it to her knee and insisted that the only reason she had worn as dress was because pants were too uncomfortable. Percy just gave her an eye roll, his hand slowly creeping back to her thigh.

They did homework together until it turned 5:30. Reyna excused herself into the bathroom and changed into her gym clothes—shorts and a tank and then threw her cardigan on top. Percy walked her to the gym, kissing her quickly before the elevator arrived.

"Maybe you can practice some of those moves on me next time."

Reyna scoffed, irritated but she couldn't resist blowing a kiss to him just as the doors closed.

Reyna found herself standing on a mat with Jason again. This time he wore some basketball shorts and…that was it. She had been right about his abdomen. It was perfectly sculpted. Jesus this guy was like the reincarnation of some kind of god. It was waaaay to distracting for Reyna. She fought back harder, until she was sweating like crazy and the blush on her cheeks had blended in with her rosy face.

"Break," she huffed out, bending over. Her braid was a mess, as usual, and Jason felt obliged to ruffle her hair as she rested.

She stood straight, scowling at him (and trying to not let her eyes wander down). "Hey!"

He laughed. "That's a nicer look on you."

Reyna lunged to attack him but he was ready—he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her onto the floor mat. Reyna was aware of his legs straddling hers down, his hands traveling down her neck and to her shoulders. They locked eyes, his boring into hers and Reyna was paralyzed. She knew she could move her arms and knock him over but she didn't. She let the shirtless Jason Grace hover above her, both of them breathing heavily.

"I think that's it for today," he said suddenly, helping her up. Reyna brushed invisible dust off her knees and thanked Jason for today's lesson.

Reyna was punching in her floor number when Jason, with a shirt, hopped into the elevator with her. His face was flushed from their session. "Let me buy you coffee."

The doors closed so it was only the two of them.

Reyna blinked. "No thanks, I'm good."

Jason laughed, gripping Reyna's shoulder. His eyes were a violent shade of blue. "I'm buying you coffee whether you like it or not."

They sat at a Dunkin Donuts. Reyna watched as Jason wolfed down three whole grain bagels and a large iced coffee.

"So, you and Percy," Jason began, wiping cream cheese from his mouth. "How's that going?"

Reyna couldn't keep a straight face at the mention of her boyfriend. Her eyes glazed over. "Great….He's _amazing_."

Jason nodded, thinking. He stroked his chin. "He's an _interesting_ guy."

"He's a dork!"

"No…well yeah but he's very secretive."

Reyna's smile vanished. "Secretive?"

Jason met her eyes, and shook his blonde head. "It's nothing. We just don't know him that well."

"Oh." Right. Percy was just as new to their group of friends as Reyna was. He had only been hanging out with them for a little over a week until he'd started dating Reyna. They pretty much spent every second they had together, Reyna wondered if he ever hung out with the boys when he wasn't with her.

Jason sipped his coffee. "What's up with that smell though? He's like a walking aquarium."

Okay, Percy didn't smell _that_ bad. Reyna had been to the Shedd before and it smelled like 1000 tons of rotten fish. Percy smelled fresh, like the beach and coconuts and saltwater and _like home. _

Jason continued, not done bashing on Reyna's boyfriend. _"_He needs to come to the gym too. I see potential in him."

Reyna pursed her lips. "I think he's fine the way he is."

Jason shrugged. "He could use some protein."

"Ahhh, I'll let him know."

Jason looked unconvinced but he let it go. He pestered Reyna with questions about her school and her home. Reyna answered as cryptically as possible.

"I can't get through this wall you're building," he said at one point.

Reyna was aghast. "I don't trust you," she snapped at him. She expected Jason to retreat and apologize but he was grinning. He kept bombarding her with questions until Reyna hopped off the stool and said it was getting late. He offered her a ride but she waved him away. She didn't like the vibe she was getting from him and had no desire of spending more alone time with him.

"Don't forget next week," he called as she headed for the door. Reyna didn't look back.

…..

The week passed by quickly. Reyna did research on the schools she'd gotten in. She edited some essays for Percy's English Lit class. Percy came over once for dinner. Her parents loved him, especially her dad. He was a tall, muscular man and made Percy nervous. He was always knocking things over, falling or slurring his words. His father liked teaching Percy all the curse words he knew to which Reyna's mother just shook her head. Reyna preoccupied herself with working out. She did in fact practice some moves with Percy while they waited for the train. The commuters looked horrified as Reyna slammed him onto the dirty CTA floorboards. One even snapped their picture. She could imagine the caption, 'Local hoodlum Latina mugs innocent white teen'.

Reyna trained in her basement, punching pillows and imaginary opponents, imagining how she'd punch Jason next class.

Jason.

At night when Reyna hung up with Percy, she'd lie in bed and her thoughts would wander to him. One time she woke up in the middle of the night because she had dreamed that she was drowning in the blue sea—blue like his eyes, and soon the sea became his eyes and she could see Jason staring at her. His hands were all over her as he took her mouth into his and backed her against the wall. His shirt was gone and Reyna let her hands roam, explore. In her dream she was breathing heavy as his lips sucked at her neck and his hands pushed her shirt higher and higher and….Reyna woke up, a scream lodged in her throat. She wiped sweat from her forehead and reached for her phone. She waited until Percy picked up.

"Ello?" came his sleepy voice. Of course, it was 4 am. Like any sensible human, Percy would be sleeping.

Reyna let out as shaky breath. "Perce? It's Reyna."

"I know," he mumbled. She heard bed sheets rustling. "Is something wrong?"

"I had a bad dream."

Percy let out a sigh of relief. "Wanna talk about it?"

Reyna said no and Percy, being a good boyfriend didn't pry. "I miss you," she whispered to him, her voice sad. He replied with a chuckle and an, "I miss you more."

"Stay on the phone with me 'til I fall sleep?"

"Gladly." Pretty soon both of them were snoring away.

The next day, Reyna was back at the gym. She had a determined look on her face as she walked through the doors of the 3rd floor. Jason was waiting for her in their usual spot. She dropped her bags to the side and greeted him. He nodded, waiting for her to get ready. When Reyna met him on the mat he signaled her to follow him down a corridor and into a room. It was smaller than the main floor, and more intimate. Like somewhere you'd go if you didn't want people to see you get your butt kicked.

Jason made small talk as they circled each other and Reyna played along. She attacked him all of a sudden and made him lose his balance. He regained it, blue eyes glittering with amusement. He caught her off guard and pulled on her ponytail, tugging her down. Reyna managed to get a punch in before he tackled her to the ground. It went on like this for the next hour—Reyna trying to disable him and Jason beating Reyna up. It was pretty much the same as the other times except this time Jason was sweating. At one point Jason made the mistake of getting too cocky and used the same move twice but Reyna saw it coming. She slammed her forearm against his, pushed forward and jabbed him in the gut with her free hand. Jason sputtered, backing up against the padded wall. Reyna grabbed the sides of his sweaty face and leaned in. She was smiling at her defeat. "This is where I head butt you, knock you out and win."

Jason focused his dizzy gaze on her, lips slowly quirking into a smile. "_This is where I pin you down and kiss you." _

Reyna's eyes widened and she let go just as Jason moved at lightning speed and backed her into the wall. Like her dream. She gasped as he nuzzled her neck, her hair in a death grip in his hand. Her muscles locked into place and it became hard to breathe.

"Jason!" she managed out. Her hand curled into a fist and she swung it at his face. He was stunned, backing away from Reyna. She swung her fist again, knocking him in the jaw. She swung again, catching him in nose. Finally for the grand finale, she kicked out her leg, and using all the force she had left she sent him spiraling backwards.

"_Don't you ever fucking touch me again or else, I will kill you_," she seethed. Jason raised his face to look at her, blood dripping from his battered lip. He tried to stammer something out but Reyna simply kicked his chest back, interrupting him and stormed out of the room. She picked up her stuff in the main room, blinking back tears. Heavy footsteps stormed behind her. "Reyna, I'm sorry. I'm really reall—"

She flipped him the finger, marching towards the exit and to her relief, he didn't follow. In the elevator she came undone; hot tears spilled down her cheeks. God she was so so so stupid.

That evening she was bandaging her knuckles when the phone rang. Percy. She answered the call, putting Percy on speaker. "Yes?"

"Holy shit Reyna, what did you do to Jason?"

Reyna almost dropped the bottle of peroxide she was holding. "I—he—"

"He must be a good trainer you smashed his lip like that."

Reyna didn't reply. She was rejoicing inwardly that she had messed up Jason like that.

"He walked in at Leo's house all bloody, raving how great you were today."

"Did he really?"

"Yeah! Leo and I thought it was incredibly lame on his behalf but super hot for you."

Reyna let out a nervous laugh, shoving the peroxide under the bathroom cabinet. "Is that all he said?"

"Yeah….why?"

"No, no, I was just wondering if there was more praising involved," Reyna lied. She was now lying in her bed, nestled into her purple covers. Percy was talking about his day and Reyna's mind wandered to Jason. Why had she lied? Why was she protecting him? Percy deserved to know what his so called friend had done…but she also didn't want Percy to get angry with her.

In the end Reyna kept quiet. It really wasn't a subject worth stressing over, plus she had to figure out what she and Percy would do for their 2nd monthaversary.

* * *

**So I reread the HoO and found out that Reyna is from San Juan which blew my mind because Boqueron beach MILES away from San Juan. **

**Ugh**

**Anyway, what'd you of think of Ch.8? Comments, concerns? **

**I also want to thank ALL of you amazing people for reading. I get at least one new follower or author alert a day which is fantastic! Keep being awesome.**

**Passy**


	10. Stay With You

**I don't own PJO or HoO.**

**IX**

_And when the dark clouds arrive I will stay by your side. I __know we'll be alright, I will stay with you. -John Legend _

* * *

The second that Reyna's feet touched the carpet of her floor, she knew something was bound to go wrong. It was this creeping feeling up her back that she got as she groggily rubbed her eyes and stretched out her limbs. Reyna debated knocking back out again on her bed but decided against it, remembering she had two important exams today. She padded to the bathroom where she found her mother. They exchanged good mornings, Reyna mumbling hers. She rummaged through her closet, picking out a blue dress paired with a cardigan and boots. Technically, the whole ensemble wasn't hers. Over the past weeks or so Reyna had raided Hylla's closet once more for new clothing. She had picked out some dresses and flashy blouses for whenever she went out with her girls or Percy. She was meeting Percy today after school so she wanted to look decent for him, unlike when he came over and she usually wore sweats.

Her mother pursed her lips at her when Reyna emerged through the kitchen. Ever since she'd learned about Percy, everything Reyna said or did or wore was scrutinized as if she did it for him. Partly, yes. The other part was because Reyna was embracing her femininity. She had a body, she was a woman and she could wear whatever the hell she wanted. Reyna served herself some cereal and accepted her mothers ride to school.

The first three periods were good. She took her biology exam with no problem and had a very interesting debate in English about white privilege. She even stayed after class and commented to her teacher about how much she enjoyed the discussion. He was surprised that Reyna, who sat in the back, had so much insight about the topic. They could have talked for hours but the tardy bell rang and Reyna had to cut the conversation short. She rushed to her locker to pick up her Calc book and stuffed it in her bag. As she turned to head to class Reyna was interrupted by a figure slamming her locker door shut. Alarmed, her eyes searched the perpetrator: Miguel's friend. The gang leader.

He had a wolfish grin on his face and was staring at Reyna up and down. Save for his dark skin and hair, it reminded her of the way Jason had looked at her when he had pushed her against the wall. She gulped and did her best to stare him down. She couldn't show fear; not to him. Show the slightest amount of fear and the gang members would own you. Reyna steadied her voice before she spoke, "_Can I help you?"_

The guy licked his lips. "Yeah, see, I've been meanin' to talk to you, _Ma._"

"Don't call me Ma."'

"Word on the street is that you're dating a gringo."

Word on the street? Reyna knew he'd seen Percy that first night and she was sure that he'd seen Percy those several other times he'd been over. It's not like his shiny car blended in the neighborhood. The nicest car someone in her neighborhood got was a Toyota or Honda. The gang member and drug lords usually drove big fancy trucks but nothing like Percy's car. Still, even if his car was parked outside her house frequently that didn't mean anything. It's made her mad that he was automatically assuming things just because she wasn't hanging out with Latino guys. She wondered if they'd be having this conversation if she'd brought Leo home.

The guy in front of her was inching forward.

"Word on the street is that you need to mind your own business," she retorted, holding her ground. Something flashed in his eyes and he took on a menacing sneer. Out of the corner of her eye Reyna say two dark shapes move behind her. Before she could turn, the guy shoved her against the lockers. He closed the space between them, eyes wild.

"You think you're so funny. So much better than us. You think you're too good for us," he spat.

"Whoa, those are big assumptions you're making," Reyna countered, eyes frantically searching her surroundings. Two gruff looking guys had emerged behind their leader. Reyna recognized one of the guys from her history class. Okay. So maybe she could take on the first guy but she'd be a goner with the other two. What if she screamed? Would someone hear? Care? Perhaps a teacher would peak out of a classroom? But Reyna knew that none of those options was the best way to deal with this. They'd simply get in trouble and terrorize her at home. She couldn't have her parents worried and at risk. The guy was moving closer, until his body was pressed against Reyna. Her face contorted in disgust.

"Girls like you are trouble. You go around looking down on us, we jus gotta show you who's boss around here."

The other guys chuckled behind him. One laughed stupidly and muttered, "Yeah, show her." The lead gang leader took the advice.

It all happened so fast that later when Reyna replayed the scene in her head she silently scolded herself for being so stupid. The boys had shifted closer, huddling around her. The leader moved his hand up her thigh and started to work his way up while the another whispered obscenities and the other slid his hand up her shirt. They wouldn't right? They wouldn't take advantage of her in the middle of the hallway, right? It was a hallway, in a school and it was technically in public. They at least had to have some morals to know that this way wrong. Reyna thought back to the situation with Jason, how different and yet similar the situations had been. One, she hadn't been ganged up on. Two, she semi sort of knew Jason. Three, Jason had cornered her too (for real, what was up that move?). Four, Reyna had led Jason on which has cause him to act the way he did. Still, even if she had led someone on or didn't, taking advantage of some like this was wrong. It stripped them of their dignity and it eventually became rape. She knew she needed to fight back right now if she wanted to escape unharmed but the truth, Reyna had always been terrified of gangs. They were ruthless and cold blooded if you weren't a brother or sister. They didn't care who they hurt in the process of getting what they wanted. She knew there would be hesitation to hurt her. Even if she did escape, next time it wouldn't simply be just three guys who ganged up on her. It'd be the whole gang.

She'd heard those stories before. Girls who thought that they could change a gang member ended up getting traded within the gang in exchange for some drugs or so. The members all took turns with them and they were threatened to not talk. Afterwards the girls were never the same. Who would be? Rape did that to people. They never emotionally nor psychologically recovered. Reyna had even heard that rape was an initiation ritual.

"Yo, I kinda like it when they fight back, Speedy," one of the guys on her side said. His hands were struggling with the bra clasp. Speedy, the leader, made a grunt. His cheeks were flushed red. Red. _Red._ Reyna began to see red. The adrenaline set in, coursing through her veins. She had to act now. She couldn't let herself become one of those girls. She mustered all the strength and kneed speedy in the groin. His eyes widened and he crouched in pain. Before the other two could react Reyna slammed one into the locker and the other earned a punch in the eye. She was about to make her great escaped but the guy from the locker tackled her legs and she crumbled to the floor. "Déjame, perro," she grumbled, trying to kick him in the face but his arms had a tight grip on her legs. By now the other two guys were recovering. Speedy looked murderous, small switchblade in his grasp. He was cussing in Spanish, calling Reyna and her mother the worst.

"What's going on here?" rang a girly voice. The four of them turned and sure enough a tall brunette was standing in the hall. She had a frilly black dress, knee high socks and black flats. Her hair was styled in waved curls, half of it pulled back in a bow.

Reyna took this as an opportunity, and picked herself up from the floor and gathered her stuff. The boys recovered as well, malice glinting in their eyes. It appeared that the couldn't focus on who two deal with: Reyna or the new girl. Reyna silently prayed that they'd back off for good. She readied her hands, just in case they decided to make a move and she needed to punch.

"Did they hurt you?"asked the girl, eyebrows furrowed with concern. She stepped closer to Reyna, eyeing the three men warily.

Reyna shook her head, eyes matched with Speedy, but that didn't seem to make the other girl any less worried.

Speedy was looking at the brunette. His eyes lingered on her legs. "If you wanted to join the fun you should have just said so," he told her.

The girl scowled in distaste and cursed in Spanish. Reyna noticed her accent was different and as she looked at her more closely, Reyna noticed she wasn't quite Mexican nor Puerto Rican. Argentinian? Sure, her hair was dark and her skin was tanned but her facial features were more European. Reyna couldn't pinpoint the exact color of her eyes.

The boys were laughing at the brunettes remark. One of them was brave, or stupid, enough to caress the girls cheek. She screamed and shoved the boy away. He stumbled back and was caught by Speedy. They frowned and began to advance on the girl. Reyna intercepted. "Don't you even dare."

She stared them down and it worked, they backed away, furiously. "Don't forget I know where you live," Speedy told Reyna. With a click of his tongue he dismissed his other gang members and they scattered down the hall. Reyna and the brunette stood there, watching after until the girl let out a shaky laugh. "Dude that was insane."

Reyna didn't reply. She was mentally punching herself.

"Reyna. Reyna! Were you trying to get raped?"

Reyna frowned at that. She glanced at the girl. "How do you know my name?"

The brunette rolled her eyes like she couldn't believe Reyna was asking such a dumb question. "Are you kidding me? Who doesn't know you?"

"Um..."

"I'm Silena, by the way."

"Well, thanks Silena for the back-up."

Silena smiled brightly, pleased with a compliment.

Reyna smoothed her dress with trembling hands. She didn't really want to be at school anymore. It wasn't safe, and that was all she wanted at the moment. Safety. Reassurance. Percy.

She thanked Silena once more and turned on her heel towards the exit of the school. She was a block down when she heard a frantic clop of feet behind her. The first thought she had was that the gang members had somehow followed her, but when she turned she found herself face to face with Silena. The girl was flushed, her hair whipping wildly in the wind. "Wait up...Where-where are you going?" she panted.

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "Uptown."

"What for?"

"To see my boyfriend."

"Can I come with?"

Reyna was going to say no but something in Silena's eyes made her hesitate. Maybe it was the new Reyna trying to break walls instead of build them. Silena had tried to help her. She couldn't be that bad right? Plus, any girl that had the guts to shove a gang member back was OK in her book. She bit her lip and after much contemplation, she shook her head 'yes'. Silena's eyes lit up like 4th of July fireworks and the girls took the train together.

On the ride to Skinny's Reyna found out that Silena was from Spain. Her parents raised her there until her mother passed away. Her father got a new job in Chicago and they relocated. Now she was living with her Mexican step-mother and her father in the nicer part of town, a couple of blocks away from Reyna's two of them tried speaking Spanish but in the end they decided to speak English to each other because neither one of them could understand the others accent. Silena found it weird that Reyna's 'Rs' became 'Ls' and sometimes she dropped the 'D' in some words. Reyna couldn't stand the 'Zs' and 'Ss' becoming 'TH'. Same language, different customs. All in all, Silena appeared to be a pretty amazing girl.

"How come I'm barely meeting you?" Reyna asked incredulously.

"Well, you aren't exactly the friendly type," muttered Silena. Reyna blushed.

They arrived at Skinny's and Reyna bought them lunch. Silena was such a flirt with Skinny. They batted their eyes at each other so much Reyna thought she was going to be sick until Percy arrived. He skipped his last two classes to come see Reyna and acted so surprised that Reyna had friends. She introduced Silena to her boyfriend, and when he wasn't looking Silena gave Percy a once over and nodded in approval. "He's so fine," she mouthed behind his back.

Silena and Percy hit it off. They joked around about Reyna, while she pouted and rolled her eyes.

Five o'clock rolled by and the back table at Skinny's was over flowing with teens eating and doing homework. Piper and Leo were obnoxiously tossing grapes in the air and trying to catch them in their mouths. Jason was frowning at his notebook, trying to figure out the area, or something, of a cylinder. He was seated the farthest away from Reyna. Nico had a copy of the Catcher in the Rye and was pretending to read. Every so often, Reyna caught him looking her way and then burying his face in his book.

Percy was knocked out, biology book in lieu of a pillow. A small trickle of drool on face. Reyna, being a good girlfriend and partly grossed out, dabbed at it with a napkin. Silena was cracking up with Piper and Leo, applauding like an asthmatic seal. And..._huh_. Reyna glanced around the restaurant for the other couple. Near the hallway by the bathroom she saw Frank and Hazel. Hazel had just handed Frank something wrapped in tissue paper. He stared at the paper in his hands, and frowned. Hazel pointed at his hands again. Frank stared down and Reyna couldn't quite make out his expression in the light but the paper tumbled out of his hands. Frank and and Hazel stared at each other for a long time before he embraced Hazel.

To her left there was laughter. Reyna found that Percy had woken up and Silena was trying to shoot grapes into his mouth. It was nice to see how fast her friends had taken a liking to Silena. Leo had been the most fond of her. His eyes had immediately began to flutter like crazy.

"Hazel!"

They all turned to see Hazel in tears, marching out of the place. Frank ran after her, shoving his arms into the arms of his coat. The door of Skinny's closed with a loud slam. When they had disappeared down the block, Piper let out a sigh. She ran her fingers through her hair, as she admitted that she wasn't sure if they'd make it. Frank and Hazel had been having a lot a problems lately.

Reyna happened to side glance at Percy who was already looking at her. They shared a sincere smile, and he squeezed her hand under the table in reassurance. Being next to him made Reyna feel like anything in the world was possible. It even made her forget about the morning's incident with the gang members. She really hoped they stayed away from her and Silena. Gang members had hearts too, right? She shivered, trying to to dwell on what would've happened if she hadn't acted, if Silena hadn't appeared. One thing was for sure,s he probably wouldn't have been sitting among her friends, holding hangs with Percy.

o.o.o

Reyna didn't have much to look forward to the rest of the week, except lunch and the trip to Six Flags with her friends. At lunch, Silena had taken it upon herself to sit with Reyna and Miguel. She mainly gossiped to Reyna about how cute Jason was and of Reyna knew more about him. As many times as Reyna assured Silena that no, she didn't know Jason, Silena managed to ask Reyna the same question everyday at lunch.

Reyna saw Speedy a couple of times in the hall. He'd try to catch her eye and when he did, Reyna would nod to him and hoped he stayed away. He did.

Saturday rolled around and Reyna was up by 8 am and sitting shotgun in Percy's car on their way to pick up Silena. In the car with them was Nico and Leo. Frank followed close by in his SUV with Jason. They drove to Oak Park where they picked up Hazel and Piper and ate at a local Denny's. Afterwards they headed down the expressway to Six Flags. By the time they arrived, two hours later, Reyna was minutes away from murdering Silena, Leo and Percy. They were so damn obnoxious. She and Nico shared a look of relief as they piled out the car. Percy slipped his hand into hers but kept chatting with everyone else. Reyna noticed that Frank and Hazel were holding hands again but they weren't talking. In fact, Hazel was chatting with everyone except Frank. He looked utterly miserable, with bags under his eyes and crumpled clothes. Reyna felt sorry for the big guy.

Soon all the teens were shuffling inside the amusement park, trying to decide what ride to go on first. Leo wanted to to ride the merry-go-round. Everyone thought he was kidding until Silena agreed that she, too, wanted to get on it. They all found themselves mounted on the horses, taking endless pictures. Reyna was mad because Leo kept photo bombing the ones she took with Percy. Frank sulked miserably on a pink unicorn while his girlfriend laughed with everyone else. Reyna thought back to Piper's words. Perhaps Hazel was on the verge of dumping him, and being friends with Piper, she had told her already. Still, Reyna decided she was being a low-key bitch to Frank. If you don't love someone, or don't want to be with them anymore, it was better to let them know instead of having them hang on thread, hoping for something that didn't exist anymore.

Finally, after what seemed like forever they dismounted and made their way to Batman. Reyna plopped herself next to Piper, Nico and Percy. Silena, Leo and Jason in the back with a stranger. Hazel and Frank were behind the gates, arguing again. Seriously, they were starting to damper her day.

Piper sighed again, and soon the ride took off. Reyna swore she died and came back to life at least twice. She'd been on roller coasters when she had been younger but now that she was older, there was something wrong with being up so high. It was unnatural and there were so many things wrong with that feeling in your stomach. Reyna did not appreciate the adrenaline rush. Instead, she closed her eyes and prayed to all the saints she knew for safety. Once, she opened her eyes to check on Percy and she saw that Nico had a demonic smile plastered in his face. It was so ridiculous that she laughed so hard that when the seats flipped in a loop, she let out her first blood curdling scream.

At the end of the ride, her friends kept poking fun at her scream. "You scream like a girl," Leo joked. Reyna shoved him playfully.

The next ride they picked was Raging Bull, one of the scariest and most popular rides at Six Flags. There was a line of 40 or so people already waiting. Panic seized Reyna as she watched the ride in action and she decided to wait for her friends while they rode. She had no interest in being that high up. She spotted Frank sulking at the base of a fountain and decided to sit with him.

"Hey," she greeted lamely. He didn't reply. He was too busy toying with something in his hand.

Reyna pursed her lips. Good talk. She spotted Percy waving at her from their spot in line, pouty face asking her if she was sure she didn't want to ride. Reyna shook her head.

She turned back to Frank who was sniffing. "You okay?" She asked him.

Frank just nodded.

Silence.

Reyna hated small talk but she also hated waiting. She figured it'd be better to pry than sit in silence for the next 20 minutes. "So what you got there?"

Frank paused. He thrust his object to Reyna. While she took it, he wiped his nose with his sleeve.

In her hands was a small key chain. It was in the shape of a hockey stick and a foam finger. The most bizarre thing about the key chain was the words on it. "World's greatest dad?"

Frank sniffled some more.

"Is this a birthday gift for your dad?"

Frank sniffled. He tried to put on a brave face but it distorted, and he put his face in his hands. He started to sob quietly.

"Frank," Reyna began. She awkwardly put an arm around the big guy. "What's wrong? Did you and your dad fight?"

The boy shook his head. Reyna gave him a moment to collect himself but she was getting aggravated. "Is your dad OK?"

Frank nodded. He sniffled some more, wiped the snot on his hoodie some more. "S'not for my dad," he mumbled. "It was a gift."

"Okay." There! An answer that wasn't a gesture or sniffling. Reyna rubbed his back gently and it hit her. It was a gift. World's greatest dad. Him and Hazel arguing so much. Reyna gasped, almost falling back into the fountain in shock. "F-Frank!"

The big guy looked at her, his eyes watery. "I know," he moaned and cried some more in his palms. Reyna glanced at where Hazel was in line, chattering with Piper and Silena as if nothing was wrong. _Hazel was pregnan_t. She couldn't believe it. Hazel and Frank were going to be parents. Obviously in order to conceive a baby, you had to you know..._do it_, but Reyna couldn't wrap her hand around little Hazel and Frank doing _that._ God. Oh god. No. God, no. They were practically children. No wonder they had been fighting so much.

"Who else knows?"

"Just you," Frank blubbered. He had composed himself and was sitting up straight but his eyes were red, along with his nose. He looked awful. "She doesn't want anyone to know because she's...she's going to the _clinic_ on Monday."

"The clinic?"

"Planned parenthood."

Reyna's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. While she was no baby expert she knew that pregnant women didn't go to Planned Parenthood to get their monthly ultrasound or vitamins. And if Hazel was keeping this a secret, it could only mean one thing...Reyna wanted to throw up. She punched Frank in the shoulder. "You can't let her, Frank. That's your baby in there!"

The big guy nodded solemnly, gazing out in Hazel's direction. He explained to Reyna that he had not reacted very well to the news that day at Skinny's. He had asked Hazel, 'So what are you going to do?' on accident. Hazel had taken that as if Frank didn't want any responsibility with her and the baby and had stormed off. They had made up but hadn't revisited the baby situation again until today. While everyone else was on Superman Frank causally brought it up and Hazel snapped, "You won't have ton worry about it. I have an appointment at Planned Parenthood on Monday." Frank had begged and begged Hazel to reconsider but she was so set that she didn't want to burden anyone. She didn't want to have a baby if Frank wasn't into it one hundred percent.

"But what do _you_ want, Frank? What do you really want?"

"I want..." His voice trailed off. He focused on something in the distance and clenched his hands. "I want her to _have_ my baby."

"Do you really?"

"Yes. Yeah. I-I want to be the world's greatest dad."

Reyna let out a sigh. She clapped Frank on the back, proud of him. He had made the right choice. Movement caught her eye: Percy was waving goodbye as he disappeared into the ride, along with everyone else. Reyna felt the bile rising in her throat."Frank," she gasped, jostling the boy. She pointed to the ride where his girlfriend was greeting the ride worker. _"Hazel."_

Frank narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"If she gets on the ride, she's going to miscarry."

That caught his attention. Reyna has never seen anyone run that fast, push his way to the front and dive into the ride. About 30 seconds into a heart attack, Reyna heard high pitched screaming and Frank was carrying Hazel, bridal style out of the ride. She was enraged. Her mocha colored hands were pounding on Frank's chest calling him obscenities. None of their other friends seemed to be following them. Frank set Hazel down about a meter away from the fountain. She slapped him, and began to storm off but Frank caught her arm and pulled her into a kiss.

Reyna watched as they embraced each other, Frank whispering things to her. His hands found their way to Hazel's stomach, and he rubbed it affectionately. Hazel threw her arms around him, sobbing so loud that Reyna could hear it from where we was lounging. All she could so was stare, thinking of what they were getting into.

Finally she saw her other friends emerging from the ride. They were huddled, chatting excited about their experience on it. Percy was waving his arms around wildly, mimicking the loops and curves of the ride. He did notice when Reyna approached and wrapped arms behind him, cheek on his back.

"What's wrong?" He asked, eyebrow raised. The excitement in his eyes began to die down.

Reyna tenderly kissed his shoulder blade. "Nothing. Nothing anymore," she replied. He grinned at her and continued talking with his friends. Reyna glance back at the fountain but Frank and Hazel were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**So sorry I haven't update in a 2-3 weeks. I've had so many papers, and tests and events. My birthday, the release of BoO, and I saw Rick Riordan on Sat here in Chicago. Twas very very very exciting.**

**Has anyone else read BoO? None of my friends have kept up with the HoO series so I have no one to talk to. I'm dying inside.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 9.. I merged two chapters in here so sorry if it's rushed. Let me know what you guys think.**

**Peace, **

**Passy.**


	11. Another's Arms

**I don't own PJO nor the HoO.**

**X**

_That's just torture to me, another's arms_. -Coldplay

* * *

Michigan Avenue was buzzing. Seriously, Reyna had never seen so many people shopping before. She and Silena squeezed past some tourists from Texas and headed to Macy's. Despite all the people out today, the weather was cold. The sky was splashed with a pale grey and the air smelled like ozone and...Chicago _traffic._

"Dude, I think you should just get him a gift card," Silena was saying to Reyna. "Or buy him cologne. Dad's like cologne right? Or a tie!"

Reyna bit her lip and didn't reply. Her dad didn't do ties. She hauled Silena up the last block. The wind whipped their hair in all sort of directions. Silena cursed, complaining it was sticking to her lip gloss. Reyna smirked and tucked her hair further in her beanie. Actually, Percy's beanie. It was funny how quickly she and Silena had become close. When she wasn't hanging out with Percy, she was with Silena. That girl was so charismatic and fun Reyna wished she had gotten to know each other sooner. They were two months away from graduation and Reyna wasn't sure where she'd be going, much less Silena.  
They finally made their way inside Macys men's department. Silena suggested several items to Reyna but she shook her head. In the end she bought her dad a gift card, like her friend had suggested eons ago.

They found themselves in Walgreens, stumbling in laughter towards the birthday card aisle when Reyna literally bumped into Thalia Grace. The punk girl looked surprised to see Reyna. In her hand she had a Arizona Iced Tea and box of tampons. They greeted each other, Reyna introducing Silena to Thalia for the first time. Thalia and Silena stared at each other up and down, sizing each other up. It was weird seeing the two of them side by side because Thalia was clad in black like she was on her way to an Avenged Sevenfold concert while Silena was on her way to sorority mixer. Silena excused herself while Reyna and Thalia caught up. They walked to the birthday card aisle and rummaged through the cards.

"So...Jason was asking if you were coming to my surprise party."

Reyna refrained from making a sour face. "It's not really a surprise party if you know about, is it?"

Thalia regarded Reyna as she fingered the tips of birthday cards. "It's not like they actually do a good job at hiding it."

Reyna laughed dryly at the short haired girl. For some reason she wanted to get away from the girl's piercing eyes. Thalia was a friend but she was making Reyna uncomfortable. She pulled a card with a soccer ball on it and tucked it into an envelope.

"Y'know I should go find Silena..." Reyna began, slowly backing away. "We've got to get going if we wanna make it home before it gets dark. It was nice seeing you again."

Thalia nodded eyes still on Reyna. "Okay. I'll see you at my party then."

"Yeah, definitely." She was about to round the corner when Thalia said, "You should stop by the gym again. Jason misses you."

Reyna blinked, startled. A fiery color rose in her cheeks earning a smirk from Thalia. She stepped closer to Reyna, boots clicking on the floor. "It seems that my brother has become very fond of you, which is _funny_ because you're dating Percy?"

"There's nothing between us," Reyna said hotly. She fanned her tomato colored face but it did no good. At the mention of Jason all she kept thinking about was him and his hands on her. Jason without a shirt. Jason so close she could smell the soap he used. Jason's eyes raking her body.

"Mmmm..." Thalia twirled a strand of hair playfully. "It's none of my business, really. Just don't get caught." She winked, spun on her heel and then walked away from Reyna, who was embarrassed and baffled. She didn't really know how much Thalia knew about her and Jason but she was definitely going to have to talk to Jason about it.

Friday came around and Reyna found herself surrounded by Silena, Piper and Hazel in her living room. The girls were all applying makeup while they made small talk with Reyna's mom. Reyna's mother was elated that Reyna actually had girl friends over. She was especially eager to meet the famous Piper.

They finished getting ready around 6 o'clock and decided they needed to get going if they wanted to make it to the party before Thalia, who was supposed to arrive at 8. They piled into Piper's car, Reyna and Silena in back. Reyna's heels knocked against glass. She frowned, fished around and pulled out two bottles of liquor. "What is this?" It was a stupid question but she felt inclined to ask. Part of her hoped they weren't Piper's.

Silena squealed, reaching for one of the bottles. "Grey Goose? Piper, you didn't!"

Piper smirked in the front seat. Her eye shadow glittered in the glow of the streetlight. "Actually, it was Frank's dad."

Hazel's eyes crinkled as she smiled. It was hard making eye contact with her. All Reyna could think of was her carrying a mini Frank or a mini Hazel inside of her. "Of course _he_ would."

Reyna glanced at the other bottle. Mango Breeze Bacardi. It sounded delicious but Reyna knew better. The sweet stuff messed you up pretty bad. "What are they for?"

Silena and Piper exchanged looks and burst out laughing. "Oh Reyna." "That's a good one." Piper shifted gear and off they went. It was a long ride there. Traffic was a bitch—full of idiots who didn't turn on their blinkers and merged carelessly, people who were texting as they drove, and a red lights that took forever. Finally they made it to Uptown Chicago. The neighborhood got drastically nicer with cleaner streets and elaborate houses. Reyna looked out the window like a little kid. She played a guessing game of which houses belonged to Percy, Frank, Leo and Jason. They were very fortunate to live in a nice neighborhood like this one. The car took a left turn into a large driveway and parked. The girls checked their makeup once more, rearranged their clothing and piled out, carrying food and liquor. Piper was wearing a dark wash skinny jeans, heels and a chiffon blouse that was unbuttoned, revealing a neon green bandeau. Her hair was styled as usual, choppy brown hair with colored streaks and feathers. Hazel had a black dress on, with black flats that had a bulldog's face in the front. Part of her cinnamon colored hair was pulled back with a huge red bow. Silena had on a lace dress that showed a bit too much of everything. Still, Reyna thought she looked good. Trashy, yet, but cute.

Piper led them up the walkway of a one floor blue house and white house. The front door was unlocked and the girls slipped inside. The smell was what hit her first. It was strong, putrid smell that Reyna couldn't place. She followed Hazel past the living room where teens mingled, beers in hand, and into the kitchen. The kitchen was crowded too with people waiting to get a turn at a the keg. Reyna spotted an stocky Asian guy sitting at the kitchen island crushing oregano in his hands. She almost had a heart attack, thinking it was Frank, future baby daddy. The smell seemed to get stronger as they approached the guy. It struck Reyna that he wasn't holding oregano. It was weed. Others were crowding around him waving dollar bills. She paused, staring stupidly as he rolled joints and handed them off, that her friends wandered off without her.

"Reyna!"

She turned toward the sound of the voice calling for her and she spotted Jason, hauling that blonde friend of Thalia behind him. What was her name? Annabeth. Reyna waved politely at them as they came near. She was aware of Jason's icy blue eyes staring intently at her. She instantly regretted wearing her sister's crop top and skirt. Her midriff was exposed and every few minutes, her skirt would begin to hike up. "When did you get here?" Jason asked her over the noise. Annabeth took Reyna into a warm hug.

"A couple of minutes ago?"

He nodded and pointed at his phone. "Thalia is on her way. She'll be here in five."

"Cool."

Reyna noticed Annabeth was distracted. She followed her stare and saw she was glaring at the boy rolling joints. She shook her head and told Jason she was going to spread the word and quiet them down. That left Reyna standing awkwardly with Jason. She wanted to ask him about the conversation she'd had with Thalia a couple of days before but she figured she didn't really have time to if Thalia was on her way.

"What you got there?" he asked her, nodding at the bottle in her hands. She'd forgotten about the booze. Great, now Jason was going to think she was an alcoholic. Who cared what he thought anyway? He was just Jason. Irresistable, hunky Jason Grace with electric eyes and a blinding smile. Tonight he was wearing a blue Henley that was tight against his body. Reyna could just picture his muscular chest and abdomen behind the fabric.

"Mango vodka," she told him, sloshing the bottle up and down.

"Yum. Care to make me a drink?"

"It's not mine, actually."

Jason smirked. "I see….just like that weed isn't his?" he said, gesturing to the Asian boy. Reyna rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious."

"I am too."

She needed to get away from him. Now. "Maybe later. I've got to find my friends."

His mouth twitched. "Spread the world about Thalia to them?"

"You got it." Reyna said goodbye to Jason and watched as he disappeared. When she found the girls again, she saw that they were with Frank and Leo. Leo was halfway done with his beer and was already acting silly. Lightweight Leo. He leaned against Silena, nuzzling her bare shoulder. The Spanish girl didn't seem to mind. She had a huge ruby smile on her face as she scanned the backyard, and spotted Reyna. "There you are! Have you seen Jason?"

Reyna tugged at the bracelets that adorned her wrists. "Uh, yeah. He's actually waiting for Thalia who's, like, two minutes away. So we've got to quiet everyone down."

Silena nodded, shoving Leo away from her. She shoved her fingers into her mouth and whistled. Heads swiveled to look at her. "Everyone," she began. "Shut the fuck up. Thalia is on her way."

People began to chatter excitedly.

"Actually, I'm right here," said a voice. Everyone quieted down to stare at Thalia, clad in black, near the backyard fence door. She was holding hands with a blond haired boy, and Reyna recognized him from Dottie's party.

"Uh….SURPRISE!" Frank yelled and everyone followed in suit. Thalia was tackled with kisses and hugs and Happy Birthdays. She looked happy being among her friends—some from high school and most from college. Eventually Jason and Annabeth found their way to Thalia. His older sister playfully punched Jason and ruffled his hair and proclaimed she hated surprise parties as much as she hated him. She high-fived Annabeth and let out a whoop, and the party officially began. Music blared from speakers and two more kegs appeared from no where. The stench of weed permeated the inside of the house.

It was about 10:30 when Reyna looked at the clock again. The night was a big freaking blur. It started off right after they headed back into the house for drinks. Piper set the drinks with 20 other bottles on the counter and prepared them cups to drink with Silena. She handed Reyna a red plastic cup and they all clinked their cups in a giant cheer. After that, it seemed like no matter how hard she tried, Reyna's cup was always filled to the brim with liquid that she quickly gulped down. She was leaning against a wall, joking with a sloppy Leo Valdez when a Latin song came on. She dragged Leo to the backyard where bodies were grinding against each other in dance. It was sloppy. Leo was just swaying, and Reyna was angry and kept having to slap his arms to get his attention. Eventually she found Silena grinding up behind Leo, who apparently came alive with that. He pulled Silena by the hips, thrusting his with hers. Reyna probably would've been grossed out but tonight, she was happy and the world wouldn't stop spinning.

Someone took her by the arms and spun her around. She let out a loud groan when she saw it was Jason Grace, smiling brightly at her. "Oh its _you_."

He pretended to look offended by her words but his eyes twinkled with mischief. Reyna was dimly aware of him standing too close for comfort, and with hands on her waist.

"Yeesh, I didn't know you didn't like me that much."

Reyna rolled her eyes, sure she looked ridiculously unfocused. "I don't, Jason Grace."

"Then you do like me?"

Reyna didn't reply. Her stomach flopping around like crazy and she wasn't sure if it was because of the liquor or because of the guy before her. Jason started to laugh. His hand inched lower, past the small of her back. "You_ do_ like me."

Reyna lowered her gaze, hands fiddling with each other behind his neck. "I think you're very attractive."

"Then why are you with Percy?"

That name. Percy. Reyna recognized it and for a moment the world stopped spinning. She knew she was at a party, drunk and doing something she shouldn't but as quickly as that thought came, it went. She focused on Jason again. He licked his lips seductively and heat spread throughout Reyna's body. She wondered what it'd be like to stand on her tip toes and bite his plump lip. She wondered what he'd taste like. "I'm drunk," she told him suddenly, blinking stupidly. That seemed to make him laugh again. When he was done he leaned into Reyna's ear, brushing her hair out of the way and whispered, "Can I show you my room?" Jason then planted a kiss underneath her ear.

The hairs on Reyna's arms stood up and every inch of her was on fire. She closed her eyes, and let out a dreamy sigh. God, Jason was so sexy. She wanted him to hold her and kiss her on her neck some more. Maybe if she went with him to his room he could. No one would have to know right? He was just going to show her his room. Reyna repeated that in her head: she was only going to see his room. She would only go see his room.

"I want to make you mine tonight." Again, Jason was breathing into her ear. His breath smelled like strawberries and beer, and his voice had become huskier when he spoke. He now had a hold of Reyna's skirt and was slowly inching it up, running his fingers on her thigh.

Reyna's breathing was ragged. "Let's—"

"_Dude_, not cool. Not cool _at all_."

Reyna's eyes snapped open and she saw Percy standing two feet away, face contorted in disgust. The world was still spinning but she managed to launch herself into Percy's arms. "I thought you weren't coming," she slurred, clutching him for dear life. Percy's embrace was ridged and cold. His beach like smell cleared her mind, and Reyna started to realize what she had been about to do.

Oh god, oh no, god.

"Turns out my mom changed her plans," he muttered. His eyes were murderously trained on Jason who was still biting his lip, looking extra guilty. Reyna wished he'd just go. He was just going to make things worse for her and Percy if he just stood looking like that. She tugged at Percy's flannel impatiently, "Percy, get me out of here."

He ignored her, and his muscles tensed under his flannel. Panic overwhelmed Reyna, and she grabbed him by the chin, training his gaze on her. Her eyes were wide and scared, searching his angry ones. "I need to get out of here. _Now_."

He pursed his lips and grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her through the backyard. People parted for them, whispering and then returning to what they'd been doing before. Reyna turned right before Percy dragged her through the fence door and swore she saw Thalia smirking at her from a distance as she exhaled cigarette smoke. _Don't get caught_, she had told her, and that's exactly what had happened.

Reyna struggled keeping up with Percy as he pulled her down one block and then down another. She was wearing heels and her feet hurt. She was also drunk and scared that he might hurt her. He would never ever hurt me, she reassured herself. Percy wouldn't dare put his hands on me.

She couldn't stand the silence. It was killing her. She wanted to know what he was feeling, what he was thinking. "Are you—"

"Reyna, shut up," he huffed, and sped up his pace. She clopped silently behind him, thinking. Reyna knew that she had fucked up big time by letting Jason get too close to her. For Gods sake, he was practically kissing her, and Reyna had been willing to go to his room.

_I want to make you mine tonight._

His words made her blush again and she was glad for the shadows that hid the color in her cheeks. Percy led her up the steps of a brick building, unlocked the door and then went inside. She followed after, rubbing her aching wrists. The house came alive as Percy flipped the lights on. Even though she was drunk, Reyna appreciated his mother's taste. It was a modern looking living room with red leather couches. There was a kitchen leading further down and a bedroom. To the left side there were spiraling glass stairs that led to a door. Percy tossed his keys onto the coffee table. He plopped onto a couch and kicked off his loafers while Reyna stood awkwardly to one side.

"Do you want something to drink?" her boyfriend asked, rubbing his shoulder impatiently. Reyna shook her head, and sat down beside him. As soon as she sat down, Percy jumped to his feet and pulled her up with him. He stared at the red marks on her wrist, scowling and kissed them tenderly. "Let's go upstairs," he murmured against her skin. Reyna obeyed him, sliding off her heels before she climbed up the stairs. The glass felt cool under her feet.

Percy led her past the upstairs door into a smaller, replica of the downstairs portion minus the kitchen and the leather couches. In lieu of the couches there were bean bags and psychedelic looking rug. It was dim so Reyna couldn't quite make out the colors but she guessed maybe blue? Her boyfriend led her past the bean bags and into a dark room that Reyna figured to be Percy's room. It smelled exactly like him. She stumbled blindly in the dark until he flipped on a lava lamp. It cast a pink glow around his messy room. Reyna rubbed her eyes as they adjusted and sat down on his bed. It rippled under her weight. She let out a surprised gasp, and gazed up at Percy. He was standing above her, studying her closely. She tried to reach out to him and he swatted her hand away. She tried again, going for the buttons of his flannel but Percy pushed her hands away. He looked infuriated again. "How much did you drink?"

"A lot."

"What did you drink?"

"I don't know."

Her boyfriend laughed but there was no joy behind it, and he ran his agitated hands through his hair. "What. Do. You. Mean. You. Don't. Know? Weren't you paying attention to what you drank?"

"No. Silena handed me all the drinks."

The reply earned a scoff from Percy. He paced his spacious room anxiously, stopping before his window to gaze outside. "Figures. Silena was drunk out of her mind, passed out on a lawn chair."

The thought was so silly that Reyna burst out into a fit of giggles. Percy glared at her and when it was apparent she wasn't going to stop laughing anytime soon, he returned back to gazing out the window. Reyna lay on the edge of his bed, calming herself. Her sides hurt. Why wasn't Percy laughing with her? More importantly, why wasn't he screaming at her? She sat up, fanning her face from the heat of laughing. She took a moment to soak it all in. She was in Percy's room. Not Jason's. This was her boyfriend—she was at home.

But she could feel the anger radiating from Percy. It was starting to suffocate her. She just wanted to make him happy again. Maybe if she did to him what Jason wanted to do to her, Percy would be happy. Seeing that he was distracted, Reyna slipped out of her skirt, leaving her in her crop top and underwear. She glided over to Percy, wrapping her arms around his. "Don't be mad at me, Perce."

He didn't even look at her when he replied. "I'm not."

Reyna tried a different approach. She detached herself from his back and wiggled her way between him and the window frame. He scowled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted soft kisses on his lips, his cheek, his jaw, and then below his ear. "Prove it to me. Make me yours tonight."

That got his attention. He tore his eyes from outside to focus on his girlfriend. It occurred to him that Reyna was serious because she was missing her skirt. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down and she kissed his neck. He grabbed her by the waist, leading her towards the bed. He slipped off her crop top, tossing it to the side and they fell onto the mattress together. Percy hovered above her, kissing and nipping at her exposed skin. He kept sighing whenever she whispered, "Mi amor, mi amor," to him.

Reyna was in heaven. All her senses were awake and afire. She curled her toes whenever Percy's breath blew against the wet spots he'd left on her neck. She felt her body go and relax and relax and relax until her limbs went limp. Darkness was consuming her until she became darkness, and she slept.

Percy was not happy when found his girlfriend had fallen asleep on him. His anger returned and he quickly got off the bed before he took his anger out on Reyna. He covered her half-naked body up with a blanket and raced downstairs to put his shoes on. He didn't even bother locking the door after he left.


	12. Oh What a Sin

**I don't own PJO or HoO.**

**XI**

_Babe there's something wretched about this, something so precious about this. Oh what a sin. - Hozier_

* * *

Reyna woke up to blinding sunlight. She thrashed around in bed, tugging the blankets up to shield her eyes. It worked...sort of. She could still feel the heat on her body and a pulsing in her eyes. She groaned, smothering her face into the pillow. Her mind wandered back to her dream of Puerto Rico, her home that she missed like crazy. She missed the smells from the carts of San Juan vendors frying up food in the morning, and the hot sand squished in between her toes. She reminisced in her mind of everything and imagined herself, now 17, lounging on the Island's beaches. She was in bliss for a while until the pain started. It overwhelmed her in waves and pangs, making her whimper and groan in discomfort. It was like someone was drumming on the inside of her skull.

Reyna recalled that story where that god, Zeus, had a headache and Athena was born from head. That's what it felt like-someone trying to spring free from her head. She lay in bed, breathing heavily until the pain subsided. It was still there just not as prevalent. Reyna made an effort to move, and found that her body felt like it had suddenly been run over by elephants. She sucked in a breath and flipped on to her back causing the pain in her head to flare again. She rubbed her eyelids, whisking away makeup eye boogers that had accumulated on her lashes. When her eyes were clean, she cracked one eyelid open slowly and then another. It took a couple of seconds to focus but soon she could make out the green of the ceiling and the eggshell colored glow in the dark stars. Reyna let her eyes close again. She considered falling asleep once more and..

_Wait a second. My room isn't green._

Her heart began to hammer against her chest and she sat up just as fast. These weren't her covers. This wasn't her bed. This wasn't her house. _Where was she?_

She scrambled off the bed, tripping over some boots and knocking down an analog clock in the process. She crumbled to the ground and saw that her knee was scratched up.

_Wait..._ Her heart stopped again. Why was she in her bra? Where were her clothes?

She racked her brain, and stifled back a sob as memories of last night returned. _Jason. Oh no. I slept with Jason._

_No,_ her subconscious whispered to her. _You didn't sleep with Jason. Think._

Reyna glanced around the room. Lime green walls, black covers, red lava lamp, the closet left ajar revealing different flannels,a stack of biology books on a desk, a picture frame with Percy and his friend, Percy and Reyna at Dotty's party and fetus Percy with his parents on Halloween.

Instead of being relieved, Reyna was horrified. Jason. The party. Almost saying yes to him. Percy dragging her home. Percy acting strangely calm. Reyna throwing herself at him and taking off her clothes and..oh God. She saw herself and Percy rolling around on his bed and that was it. The rest was a dark, drunken mess. Had she lost her virginity last night? She pulled herself up, blinking back tears. Had they slept together? Where on earth was Percy anyway? God, what was he going to think of her now? He'd seen her at her worst last night, throwing herself at Jason and then at him. She had to go find him and explain to him that she wasn't that kind of girl.

She stumbled towards the door, pausing briefly to toss on one of his hoodies and joggers. Reyna passed through his living room of bean bags and climbed down the glass stairs. She spotted her shoes at the base of the stairs but no Percy. His mom and step father weren't anywhere to be seen either, which was a relief because she dreaded meeting his mom. Nothing said 'commitment' better than meeting the parents. Reyna ran back up the stairs to Percy's room. She saw that the bathroom door was ajar and slipped inside. The bathroom was a bright green color, like Percy's room and very bland-a shower, toilet, white cabinets and a sink. On the sink she spotted a new toothbrush and she ripped the plastic off. She found the toothpaste and applied it to her brush and scrubbed away. When she finished, she took a damp towel and wiped the mascara clean from her eyes. She stepped back from the mirror, barely recognizing the girl standing before her when something caught her eye.

Towards the end of the bathroom, there was a little mini French door that looked out to a fire escape. It was draped in a fine white curtain that rippled with the slightest breeze. Reyna approached it, peering out the window and there was Percy. His head was tipped back, eyes shut. He didn't even stir when she appeared beside him. Reyna cleared her throat and Percy finally cracked an eye open. "You're awake," he said monotonously.

"I am."

Percy brought his hand up and popped something into his mouth. Reyna was taken aback by it; a long, brown, smoking stick. Percy held it between his thumb and forefinger as he took a long drag, held it in and exhaled it through his nose. The smell made Reyna wrinkle her nose.

"What is that?" She asked him.

"A blunt."

"With like _weed_?"

Percy finally opened both his eyes and stared at her. His eyes were a brilliant green today, and he had traded his plaid shirt for a navy blue thermal and jeans. His hair was messy, as always, and there was a small smile playing on his lips. "What else would it be made of ?"

Reyna bit her lip, eyeing the joint as Percy took another slow drag.

"Where did you get it?"

Percy tore his eyes away from her and smirked at something in the distance. He didn't reply to her which worried Reyna. As she took another drag, Reyna thought she saw faint scratches on his knuckles but he turned his hand before she could get a good glimpse.

Reyna ran her fingers through her hair, exasperated. "Percy, you can't be serious. Do you know what weed does? It's bad. It messes wi-"

Percy snorted. "You aren't really in the position to tell me what's right and wrong, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano."

Reyna took a step back, feeling like she'd just been slapped. The color in her cheeks flared up. What the hell did that mean? She lifted her head defiantly, arms crossed, ready to argue. "Look, last night-"

She was interrupted again by Percy, sticking his fingers out to her with the smoking blunt. "Here. You need to chill."

She stared to the joint stupidly. He honestly didn't expect her to take it? All her life she'd been taught drugs were bad, grown up with people selling it in brown bags down her block. She'd seen boys from elementary school become so addicted to weed that simple things in life couldn't make them happy anymore. They had to get high to feel and to forget. Reyna promised her family, and herself that she wouldn't go down that path. Still, for some reason she took the blunt from his fingers and brought it to her lips. She didn't know what motive made her do it; maybe she wanted to prove Percy wrong or please him. Whatever the reason, she just really wasn't in the mood to fight with him. She wanted things to be okay between them again.

Percy's eyes lit up as she sucked it in, doing as she had watched so many do. Smoke in her lungs for the first time, Reyna broke out in a fit of coughs. Percy cackled, patting his girlfriend on the back.

He encouraged her to take another drag, showing her how to do it and she did so. She even tipped her head back like he had before. They finished the blunt together and then headed back inside where Percy offered to make her breakfast.

Reyna inquired, "And your mom?"

"Gone for the day," he replied, pulling out pancake mix from the cabinet. He was acting funny around her, rarely making eye contact and avoiding her touch. She offered to help him prepare breakfast but Percy kept moving away from her. Finally, he ordered her to sit on a breakfast bar stool. With a muggy mind, she watched as Percy added blue food coloring to the batter and to..well, everything else. It was weird. _He_ was weird. She went back to the way she'd seen him smoking with his face contorted with pleasure. He enjoyed smoking so it wasn't his first time like hers. She wondered how many times he'd smoked marijuana before.

She was glancing around his kitchen when the time on the clock on the wall made her gasp. It was almost one in the afternoon. She had slept here the whole night. Her parents were going to kill her. She swore, bolting from her seat to find her clothes upstairs. She practically destroyed Percy's room trying to find her clothes but with no avail. When she returned to the kitchen, flustered and enraged, Percy had two plates set up and a huge pitcher of orange juice on the table. He raised an eyebrow at her as he lined the silverware on the counter.

"I have to get home. My parents-"

"Covered." He said flatly and turned his back on her. "Piper got her mom to talk to yours, and explained that she (Dotty) didn't really want to drive through your neighborhood at a late hour."

"My mom bought it?"

"Appears so."

She shook her frizzy hair, confused and slowly slid into the stool again. Surely her mom wouldn't have completely bought it. She must've known something was up. Oh, Reyna was definitely going to hear about it tomorrow. She'd probably be put into more volunteer programs or shoved into a convent. Well, the convent wasn't really an option. Not that she knew anything about being a nun but weren't you supposed to abstain from sex for, like, ever? It was a little too late for that, she figured, if it was true she and Percy has slept together. Her cheeks flamed thinking about it, and she cleared her throat before asking Percy her next question. "And my clothes?"

"Laundry. Smelled like alcohol and smoke."

Reyna nodded, waiting for Percy to be finished frying the bacon. She watched him work, face frowning with concentration. Every so often he'd smirk at the frying pan. "So, did we...you know..do _it_?"

_"What?"_

"Didwehaveyouknowummintercourse?"

Percy froze, and then cursed as his fingers skimmed the stove. He hastily transferred the bacon to a plate before he turned to look at her, his face burning up but very serious. "No." He set down the food next to her and turned to pull some cups from the cabinet. "You feel asleep right when we were about to."

"Oh, that's a relief," Reyna muttered quietly, not being able to meet his eyes. She continued to watch him, admiring his work when Reyna started to feel..._good_. It was indescribable. Her worries disappeared and the only important thing was the food before her. She began to eat without her boyfriend. Reyna poured a whole bunch of her syrup on her pancakes until they were drenched.

Reyna was almost done eating when she heard Percy taking a seat beside her, laughing. His eyes were bloodshot and his smile was dopey. It was so ridiculous that Reyna had to laugh too. She couldn't stop laughing. Everything became funny: his face, her blue pancakes, last night, her being in trouble tomorrow. The two of them clutched each other, foreheads pressed against one another. His green eyes stared into hers sleepily and the two stayed like that for a moment. Suddenly Percy was became more interested in his breakfast. They made small chat, laughing when the other said something stupid or slurred their words. Afterwards, Reyna helped clean the kitchen. She took the role of washing dishes while Percy wiped down the stove and counter. He was dancing around the kitchen singing Aerosmith, and Reyna chuckled as she watched. She was distracted for a bit, remembering last night when she felt Percy pressing his body behind hers. He kissed the side of her neck, while Reyna closed her eyes in bliss. She shut off the water, turning to face her boyfriend and was surprised at his savage actions. He pushed her up against the counter, lifting her by the waist to sit her on the counter. His hands were in her hair while his mouth aggressively kissed her. He stepped back trying to catch his breath and smiled at her. It was his first sincere, genuine smile towards her of the day and it made Reyna ache inside. She was really disappointed in herself and that he'd walked in the party to find her practically cheating on him with his friend.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tracing the outline of his swollen lips. Percy shut his eyes and shook his head, silencing her with a 'shh'. He caressed the back of he neck gently and whispered back, "It's all in the past."

And Reyna really hoped it was.

The rest of her afternoon, she spent it in bed with Percy watching television and making out. It never went further than that, though Reyna could tell Percy wanted it to. He respected her decision to wait. "Wait until when?"

Reyna shrugged her shoulders.

Around four o'clock Piper called and invited Reyna to dinner and to drop her home to make the lie seem authentic. Percy encouraged her to go, and watched as she dressed herself up in last night's clothes and got ready. He acted fidgety, with his head hung low like a little kid in trouble. It should have been the opposite but Reyna didn't question him about it.

Piper finally picked her up in her mom's car. She pressed a kiss on Percy's lips and made her way to the car. Hazel was riding shotgun and waved at Reyna when she slid in. The car ride to the bistro was quiet except for Piper singing some Taylor Swift song. Reyna couldn't help mumble along. Then Hazel joined in, and all three sang at the top of their lungs. They got to the restaurant and ordered food. Hazel drummed her fingers impatiently on the table while Piper glared at her. Finally Hazel sighed and stopped. They sat awkwardly like that until Hazel looked like she was going to pass out, and she blurted out, "So was Percy mad at you?"

Piper smacked Hazel's hand and then threw her hands up, exasperated. Reyna blushed, wanting to disappear into thin air. "Not really."

Silence. It was Piper's turn to blurt out, "Really?"

"Um..yeah."

The two girls exchanged a look. Hazel scrunched her face up, and Piper crossed her arms. They had a silent conversation with their eyes. "I mean, he probably got all his anger out last night," squeaked Hazel.

Piper's eyes widened and she snapped her fingers as if to say shut up.

_"What?"_

"Nothing," squeaked Hazel. She slid deeper into her seat but Reyna wouldn't have any of that. Pregnant or not. "What exactly happened last night?"

"Well..."

"Ummmm..."

"I think you should tell her Pipes. I mean, Percy is like your _B-F-F_ now." Piper and Percy BFFs? When had that happened?

Reyna rubbed her temples in aggravation. "Some better explain fast before I lose it."

Piper sighed, turning to meet Reyna's stare. Her hair was pulled up in a bun, fully revealing her incandesent eyes that Reyna silently envied. "So yesterday when Percy dragged you away from the party, you two disappeared for like more than an hour. Later on, I spotted Percy smoking the pool and he said you were sleeping at his house. Which was fine by me 'cause I knew where you were."

Hazel piped in, "I was very skeptical about it. For all we'd known you couldve been at the bottom of a lake or a ditch or-"

"She get's it Haze."

"-or raped."

"Anyway, I thought things were good. Percy was having a good time. Then all hell broke loose when Jason came over. You should have seen his face when he saw who I was talking to. I've never seen a guy more petrified in my life. Percy on the other hand, well, his mellow mood died down and he started yelling. Making a huge fucking scene. I-I didn't know what had happened until Jason said that it was all his fault..." Piper tore her eyes away from Reyna and focused on some bread crumbs on the table. Her voice was steely, cold when she spoke once more, leaving Reyna perplexed as to why. "He said he had a crush on you for a while and took advantage of the fact that you were drunk. By then people had started to gather to see what was the commotion, so Percy started acting all macho an-"

"He socked Jason right in the nose! There was blood every where!" Hazel sounded like an overly excited three year old.

Reyna gasped, clutching her hand to her heart as Hazel continued. "-you know Percy looks really skinny and tall but he handled Jason like he battled tough guys every day before breakfast. I was kind of frightened for Jason. He looked miserable last night when I was bandaging him up. Probably broken nose. Swollen eye, black too. Did he chip his tooth too, Piper?"

Piper didn't reply. She was too busy glaring at Reyna. "Why didn't you tell us that you and Jason had a thing?"

"We don't."

Piper scoffed, rolling her eyes. The auburn haired girl muttered something under her breath.

Reyna felt like a harlot. Like Mary Magdalene. Except she hadn't done anything, and here were her "friends" accusing her without hearing her story. Anger boiled within her. Not just for Jason, or Percy, or Piper but for herself and for the stupid party and stupid liquor. She coudlnt believe why Piper, of all people, was being the hardest on her. She was the one who had brought the drinks last night. "Say it to my face Piper."

"I said, friends don't keep secrets from their friends."

"It was never a secret and we never had anything."

"Poor Percy, getting into a fight over you."

"What the fuck is your problem, Piper?"

"You're my problem Reyna. You're a whore. A cheater. A liar who doesn't even trust her friends and keeps secrets."

"I'm a liar? What about Hazel? She's been hiding things from you too."

Okay, Reyna admitted it was wrong dragging Hazel into their argument but she couldn't believe Piper was being so..so _shiesty_. Hazel doubled back, her cinnamon skin slightly coloring. She looked at them back and forth, panicked.

"What the fuck are you talking about Reyna? Hazel is my best friend since 2nd grade. She'd never keep secrets."

Reyna just laughed and shook her head. She wasn't going to waste her time explaining it to Piper. Besides, Hazel needed to tell her best friend personally about her pregnancy. By now the waiter was warily approaching the table, their food on a colossal tray. "Don't even bother with that. I'm taking it to-go," Reyna told him, gathering her stuff.

"True friends hear each other out before they make assumptions and judge," she told Piper, but her apologetic eyes on Hazel and then she walked away.

Surprisingly, her mother didn't yell at her when she got home. Partly because she saw Reyna's bloodshot and puffy eyes (this time from crying) and knew her baby cub was upset. Reyna crawled into her lap and cried, as best as she could that she and her friends had fought and she didn't know why. Reyna's mom just stroked her hair, listened and then offered to make her some _arroz con leche._

Reyna didn't hear back from Hazel that weekend, much less from Piper. She did in fact have Silena corner her in the hallway on Monday and told her what she remembered from Thalia's party. "A half naked Latino boy in the back of Frank's car with a big-"

"Ughh, ew, gross. Stop. Stop. Ewwwww."

Reyna recounted her story, and Silena let out a low whistle. "That is some serious shit," she said. Reyna couldn't have agreed more.

The week passed and she saw Percy once. Everything was normal for the most part. They went jogging near the lake shore and then ordered take-out for his place. His mother and step-father were out for the night and they had the place to their selves. No, they didn't have sex. They did smoke. A lot. Reyna learned what a hot boxing was that night. That Friday morning she skipped school and went over to Percy's to smoke again. It made her forget about the tear in her heart over the argument with her friends. It made her feel good.

On Sunday, over a week after the party, Reyna sat in the church pews, high as a kite, smiling from ear to ear.


End file.
